LADIES 


IN   THE    FIELD 


EOITE 


THE   LADY  GREVILLE 


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LADIES  IN  THE  FIELD 


Sketches  of  Sport 


EDITED    BY 

THE   LADY   GREVILLE 


NEW    YORK 
D.    APPLETON     AND    COMPANY 

1894 


- 

- 


PREFACE 


It  is  scarcely  necessary  nowadays  to  offer  an 
apology  for  sport,  with  its  entrancing  excite- 
ment, its  infinite  variety  of  joys  and  interests. 
Women  cheerfully  share  with  men,  hardships, 
toil  and  endurance,  climb  mountains,  sail  on 
the  seas,  face  wind  and  rain  and  the  chill 
gusts  of  winter,  as  unconcernedly  as  they 
once  followed  their  quiet  occupations  by  their 
firesides.  The  feverish  life  of  cities  too,  with 
its  enervating  pleasures,  is  forgotten  and 
neglected  for  the  witchery  of  legitimate 
sport,  which  need  not  be  slaughter  or  cruelty. 
Women  who  prefer  exercise  and  liberty,  who 
revel  in  the  cool  sea  breeze,  and  love  to  feel 
the  fresh  mountain  air  fanning  their  cheeks 


v  Preface. 

who  are  afraid  neither  of  a  little  fatigue  nor 
of  a  little  exertion,  are  the  better,  the  truer, 
and  the  healthier,  and  can  yet  remain  essen- 
tially feminine  in  their  thoughts  and  manners. 
They  may  even  by  their  presence  refine  the 
coarser  ways  of  men,  and  contribute  to  the 
gradual  disuse  of  bad  language  in  the  hunting- 
field,  and  to  the  adoption  of  a  habit  of  courtesy 
and  kindness.  The  duties  of  the  wife  of  the 
M.F.H.  fully  bear  out  this  view. 

When  women  prove  bright  and  cheerful 
companions,  they  add  to  the  man's  enjoy- 
ment and  to  the  enlarging  of  their  own 
practical  interests.  When,  in  addition,  they 
endeavour  to  love  Nature  in  her  serenest  and 
grandest  moods,  to  snatch  from  her  mighty 
bosom  some  secrets  of  her  being,  to  study 
sympathetically  the  habits  of  birds,  beasts 
and  flowers,  and  to  practise  patience,  skill, 
ingenuity  and  self-reliance,  they  have  learnt 
valuable  lessons  of  life. 


Preface.  v 

Lastly,  in  the  words  of  a  true  lover  of  art : 
"  The  sportsman  who  walked  through  the 
turnip  fields,  thinking  of  nothing  but  his  dog 
and  his  gun,  has  been  drinking  in  the  love  of 
beauty  at  every  pore  of  his  invigorated  frame, 
as,  from  each  new  tint  of  autumn,  from  every 
misty  September  morning,  from  each  variety 
of  fleeting  cloud,  each  flash  of  light  from 
distant  spire  or  stream,  the  unnoticed  in- 
fluence stole  over  him  like  a  breeze,  bring- 
ing health  from  pleasant  places,  and  made 
him  capable  of  clearer  thoughts  and  happier 
emotions." 

Violet  Greville. 


C  0  N  T  E  N  T  S. 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India. 

By  the  Lady  Grevillc. 

Hunting  in  the  Shires. 

Horses  and  Their  Riders. 

By  The  Duchess  of  Newcastle. 

The  Wife  of  the  M.  F.  H. 

By  Mrs  Chaworih  Musters. 

Fox-Hunting.      .... 

Team  and  Tandem  Driving.    . 

By  Miss  Rosie  Anstruthcr  Thomson 

Tigers  I  have  Shot.     . 

By  Mrs  C.  Martclli. 

Rifle-Shooting. 

By  Miss  Leale. 

Deer-Stalking  and  Deer-Driving.     . 

By  Diane  Chasscresse. 

Covert  Shooting. 

By  Lady  Boynton. 

A  Kangaroo  Hunt. 

By  Mrs  Jenkins. 

Cycling.  ..... 

By  Mrs  E.  R.  Penncll. 

Punting.  .... 

By  Miss  Sybil  Salaman. 


PAGH 
1 


29 
61 

71 

89 
105 

143 

157 

173 

197 
233 

245 
2G7 


RIDING  IN  IRELAND  AND 

INDIA. 


LADIES  IN  THE  FIELD. 


BIDING  IN  IKELAND  AND  INDIA. 

By  the  Lady  Greville. 

Of  all  the  exercises  indulged  in  by  men 
and  women,  riding  is  perhaps  the  most  pro- 
ductive of  harmless  pleasure.  The  healthful, 
exhilarating  feeling  caused  by  rapid  motion 
through  the  air,  and  the  sense  of  power 
conveyed  by  the  easy  gallop  of  a  good 
horse,  tends  greatly  to  moral  and  physical 
well-being  and  satisfaction.  Eiding  improves 
the  temper,  the  spirits  and  the  appetite ; 
black  shadows  and  morbid  fancies  disappear 
from  the  mental  horizon,  and  wretched  in- 
deed must  he  be  who  can  preserve  a  gloomy 
or  discontented  frame  of  mind  during  a  fine 
run  in  a  grass  country,  or  even   in  a  sharp, 

brisk  gallop   over  turfy  downs.     Such  being 

3 


4  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the   case,    no   wonder   that   the    numbers   of 
horsemen  increase  every   clay,   and   that   the 
hunting   field,    from    the    select   company   of 
a  few  country  squires  and  hard-riding  young 
men,   has  developed  into  an  unruly  mob  of 
people,    who    ride    over    the    hounds,    crush 
together  in  the  gateways,    and  follow  like  a 
flock  of  sheep  through  the  gaps  and  over  the 
fences,  negotiated  by   more    skilful   or   cour- 
ageous sportsmen.      Women,  too,  have  rushed 
in    where    their    mothers    feared    to    tread. 
Little  girls   on    ponies   may  be  seen  holding 
their   own   nobly   out   hunting,   while   Hyde 
Park,  during   the   season,  is   filled  with  fair, 
fresh-looking  girls  in  straw  hats,  covert  coats 
and  shirts,  driving  away  the  cobwebs  of  dis- 
sipation   and   the    deleterious   effects   of  hot 
rooms  by  a  mild  canter  in  the  early  morning. 
Unfortunately,  though  a  woman  never  looks 
better  than   on   horseback,    when   she   hnotvs 
how   to   ride,    the   specimens   one   often    en- 
counters riding  crookedly,  all  one  side,  to  the 
inevitable    detriment    of    the    horse's    back, 
bumping  on  the  saddle  like  a  sack  of  potatoes, 
or  holding  on  with  convulsive  effort   to   the 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  5 

horse's  mouth,  are  sufficient  to  create  a  holy 
horror  in  the  minds  of  reasonable  spectators. 
Park-riding  is  not  difficult  compared  with 
cross-country  riding,  yet  how  seldom  do  you 
see  it  perfect  ?  To  begin  with,  a  certain 
amount  of  horsemanship  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary. There  must  be  art,  and  the  grace 
that  conceals  art ;  there  must  be  self-posses- 
sion, quiet,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
horse  you  are  riding.  Take,  for  instance,  a 
fresh  young  hunter  into  the  park  for  the  first 
time.  He  shies  at  the  homely  perambulator, 
starts  at  the  sound  of  cantering  hoofs,  is  terri- 
fied by  a  water-cart,  maddened  by  the  strains 
of  the  regimental  band,  or  the  firing  of  the 
guards  at  their  matutinal  drill,  and  finally 
attempts  to  bolt  or  turn  round  as  other 
horses,  careering  along,  meet  and  pass  him  in 
a  straggling  gallop.  If  he  backs,  rears,  kicks, 
shies  and  stops  short,  or  wheels  round  sud- 
denly, with  ears  thrown  back,  his  rider  need 
not  be  surprised.  Horses  cantering  in  every 
direction  disturb,  distress  and  puzzle  him. 
On  which  side  are  the  hounds  ?  he  wonders. 
Why  does  not  his  rider  extend  him  ?     Where 


6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

are  the  fences,  and  when  will  the  fan  begin  ? 
These,  no  doubt,  are  some  of  the  thoughts 
that  pass  through  a  well-bred  hunter's  mind, 
for  that  horses  do  reason  in  their  own  peculiar 
fashion  I  am  convinced,  and  that  they  fully 
recognise  the  touch  and  voice  of  the  master, 
no  one  can  doubt  who  has  noticed  the  differ- 
ence in  the  behaviour  of  a  hunter  when 
ridden  by  different  persons.  If  the  park 
rider  wishes  for  a  pleasant  conveyance  I 
should  strongly  recommend  a  hack,  neither  a 
polo  pony  nor  a  cob.  But  where,  oh  where, 
are  perfect  hacks  to  be  found  ?  They  should 
be  handsome,  well-bred,  not  quite  thorough- 
bred, about  15*3,  with  fine  shoulders,  good 
action,  and,  above  all,  perfect  mouth  and 
manners.  No  Irish  horse  has  manners,  as  a 
rule,  until  he  comes  to  England,  or  has  the 
slightest  idea  of  bending  and  holding  himself, 
owing  to  the  fact  of  his  being  usually  broken 
and  ridden  in  a  snaffle  bridle.  This  practice 
has  its  uses,  notably  in  that  it  makes  the 
horses  bold  fencers,  and  teaches  them  not  to 
be  afraid  of  facing  the  bit,  but  it  is  not  con- 
ducive   to  the  development  of  a  park  hack, 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  J 

which  should  be  able  to  canter  round  a 
sixpence.  I  remember  in  my  young  days 
seeing  Mr  Mackenzie  Greaves  and  Lord  Cardi- 
gan riding  in  the  park,  the  latter  mounted 
on  a  beautiful  chesnut  horse,  which  cantered 
at  the  slowest  and  easiest  of  paces,  the  real 
proverbial  arm-chair,  with  a  beautifully  arched 
neck,  champing  proudly  at  the  bit,  yet  really 
guided  as  by  a  silken  thread.  That  was  a 
perfect  hack,  and  would  probably  fetch  now- 
a-days  four  or  five  hundred  guineas.  No  lady 
ought  to  ride  (if  she  wishes  to  look  well)  on 
anything  else.  Men  may  bestride  polo  ponies, 
or  clatter  lumberingly  along  on  chargers,  or 
exercise  steeple-chase  horses  with  their  heads 
in  the  air,  yawing  at  a  snaffie ;  but,  if  a 
woman  wants  to  show  off  her  figure  and  her 
seat  she  should  have  a  perfect  hack,  not  too 
small,  with  a  good  forehand,  nice  action,  and, 
above  all,  a  good  walker,  one  that  neither 
fidgets  nor  shuffles  nor  breaks  into  a  trot. 

Bitting  is,  as  a  rule,  not  sufficiently  con- 
sidered. In  the  park,  a  light,  double  bridle, 
or  what  they  call  in  Ireland  a  Ward  bit,  is 
the  best,  and  no  martingale  should  be  required. 


8  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

People  often  wonder  why  a  horse  does  not 
carry  his  head  in  the  right  place.  Generally, 
unless  the  horse  is  unfortunately  shaped,  this 
is  the  fault  of  the  bit,  sometimes  it  is  too 
severe,  or  too  narrow,  which  frets  and  irritates 
the  horse's  mouth.  A  horse  with  a  very 
tender  mouth  will  stand  only  the  lightest  of 
bits,  and  is  what  they  call  a  snaffle-bridle 
horse,  not  always  the  pleasantest  of  mouths, 
at  least  out  hunting ;  for  I  cannot  think 
that  a  lady  can  really  ever  hold  a  horse  well 
together  over  a  deep  country,  intersected  by 
stiff  fences,  with  a  snaffle,  especially  if  he  is 
a  big  horse  with  somewhat  rolling  action. 
It  has  been  said  by  a  great  authority  on 
riding  that  no  horse's  mouth  is  good  enough 
for  a  snaffle,  and  no  man's  hands  good  enough 
for  a  curb.  I  remember  the  late  Lord  Wilton, 
one  of  the  finest  cross-country  riders,  telling 
me  to  be  sure  never  to  ride  my  horse  on  the 
curb  over  a  fence.  But,  as  I  suppose  there 
s  no  absolute  perfection  in  horse  or  man, 
each  rider  must,  to  a  certain  extent,  judge 
for  himself,  and  ride  different  horses  in 
different   ways.      But   you   may   be   sure    of 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  9 

this,  that  the  bitting  of  grooms  is  gener- 
ally too  severe,  and  the  hands  of  a  man 
who  rides  all  his  horses  in  martingales, 
snaffles,  and  complicated  arrangements  of  bit 
and  bridle,  are  sure  to  be  wrong.  The  matter 
practically  resolves  itself  into  hands.  They, 
after  all,  are  the  chief  essentials  in  riding. 
The  "  Butcher '  on  horseback  who  tugs  at 
his  horse's  head  as  if  it  were  a  bedpost, 
who  loses  his  temper,  who  digs  in  the  spurs 
incessantly,  and  generally  has  a  fight  with 
his  horse  over  every  fence,  invariably  possesses 
bad  hands  as  well  as  a  bad  temper.  I  believe 
the  reason  that  women  who  ride  hard  gener- 
ally get  fewer  falls  than  men,  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  they  leave  their 
horse's  head  alone,  do  not  interfere  with  and 
bully  him,  and  are  generally  on  good  terms 
with  their  mounts.  For  this  reason  I  dis- 
approve strongly  of  women  riding  with  spurs, 
and  think  that  in  most  cases  men  would 
be  better  without  them.  I  had  a  personal 
experience  of  this  once,  when  I  one  day  lent 
a  very  clever  hunter,  who  had  carried  me 
perfectly,    to   the    huntsman.      He   rode   her 


to  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

with  spurs,  she  went  unkindly  all  day  and 
refused  several  fences,  a  thing  I  had  never 
known  her  do  before.  Many  men  are  too 
fond  of  looking  upon  horses  as  machines, 
ignoring  their  wishes  and  peculiarities,  whereas 
the  true  horseman  is  in  thorough  sympathy 
with  the  animal  he  bestrides,  and  contrives 
by  some  occult  influence  to  inspire  him  with 
confidence  and  affection.  A  horse,  bold  as  a 
lion  with  his  master  on  his  back,  may  very 
often  refuse  with  a  timid,  nervous  or  wxeak 
rider.  One  mun,  like  the  late  George  Whyte 
Melville,  can  get  the  rawest  of  four-year-olds 
brilliantly  over  a  country,  while  another  finds 
difficulty  even  with  an  experienced  hunter. 

I  believe  thoroughly  in  kindness  and  gentle- 
ness in  stable  management.  I  would  dismiss 
at  once  a  groom  or  helper  who  hit,  or  swore 
at,  or  knocked  about  a  horse.  Horses  are 
very  nervous  creatures,  and  keenly  suscep- 
tible to  affection.  I  had  once  a  beautiful 
chestnut  hunter,  quite  thoroughbred,  and  a 
perfect  picture,  with  a  small,  beautifully- 
shaped  head,  and  large,  gentle  eye.  He  had 
evidently  been  fearfully  ill-treated,  for,  if  any- 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  1 1 


«5 


one  came  near  him  he  would  shrink  into  the 
corner  of  his  box,  tremble  violently,  and 
put  his  ears  buck  from  sheer  nervousness. 
After  a  bit,  seeing  he  was  kindly  treated, 
he  learut  to  follow  me  like  a  dog.  Another 
mare,  who  came  with  the  reputation  of  a 
vicious  animal,  and  was  supposed  to  bite  all 
those  who  approached  her,  used,  after  a  time, 
to  eat  nicely  from  my  hand,  much  to  the 
astonishment  of  her  late  master,  who  saw 
me  go  freely  into  her  box.  No  man  can 
be  a  reallv    good   rider   who  is  not  fond  of 

./        o 

horses,  and  does  not  care  to  study  their 
peculiarities  and  tempers,  and  govern  them 
rather  by  kind  determination  than  by  sheer 
ill-treatment. 

A  lady  rider  should  look  to  her  bit  before 
she  starts,  see  that  the  curb  chain  is  not  too 
tight,  and  the  bit  in  the  proper  position.  She 
should  visit  her  horse  daily,  and  feed  him  in 
the  stable  till  he  knows  her  voice  as  well  as 
one  of  mine  did  who,  on  hearing  it,  would  rise 
up  on  his  hind  legs  and  tr}^  to  turn  himself 
round  in  his  stall  whinnying  with  pleasure. 
And,  above  all,  she  should  study  her  saddle. 


12  Ladies  inmJhe  Field. 

Sore  backs  are  the  terrible  curse  of  a  hunting 
stable,  and  are  generally  produced  by  bad 
riding,  hanging  on  to  the  stirrup,  instead  of 
rising  when  trotting,  from  the  body,  and  sit- 
ting crooked  on  a  badly-fitting  saddle.  The 
woman's  seat  should  be  a  perfectly  straight 
one.  She  should  look,  as  she  sits,  exactly 
between  the  horse's  ears,  and,  with  the  third 
pommel  to  give  her  assistance,  she  ought  to 
maintain  a  perfect  balance.  Every  lady's 
saddle  should  be  made  for  her,  as  some 
women  take  longer  saddles  than  others.  The 
stuffing  should  be  constantly  seen  to,  and, 
while  the  girths  are  loosed,  the  saddle  itself 
never  taken  off  till  the  horse's  back  is  cool. 
If  it  is  a  well-made  saddle  and  does  not  come 
down  too  low  on  the  withers,  a  horse  should 
very  rarely  have  a  bad  back.  I  have  always 
preferred  a  saddle  of  which  the  seat  was  flat 
and,  and  in  old  days  used  to  have  mine 
stuffed  a  good  deal  at  the  back  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  feeling  of  riding  uphill.  Messrs 
Wilkinson  k  Champion  now  make  saddles  on 
that  principle,  on  which  one  can  sit  most  com- 
fortably.    Numnahs  I  do  not  care  for,  or  if 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  1 3 

they  are  used  they  should  only  be  a  thin 
leather  panel,  well  oiled,  and  kept  soft  and 
pliable. 

No  lady  should  hunt  till  she  can  ride,  by 
which  I  mean,  till  she  can  manage  all  sorts 
of  horses,  easy  and  difficult  to  ride,  till  she 
knows  how  to   gallop,   how  to  jump,  and  is 
capable  of  looking   after   herself.      Half  the 
accidents    in    the    hunting-field    occur    from 
women,  who  can  scarcely  ride,  being  put  upon 
a  hunter,  and,  while  still  perfectly  inexperi- 
enced, told  to  ride  to  hounds.     They  may  have 
plenty  of  courage  but  no  knowledge.     Whyte 
Melville  depicts  pluck  as    "  a  moral  quality, 
the   result    of   education,    natural  self-respect 
and  certain  high  aspirations  of  the  intellect ; ' 
and  nerve  "  as  a  gift  of  nature,  dependent  on 
the  health,  the  circulation  and  the  Kver.     As 
memory  to  imagination  in  the  student,  so  is 
nerve   to    pluck  in  the    horseman."     Women 
are    remarkable    for    nerve,    men    for   pluck. 
Women   who    ride   are    generally  young   and 
healthy.      Youth    is  bold  and   inconscient  of 
its  danger.     Yet  few  men  or  women  have  the 
cool   courage   of  Jim   Mason,   who   was   seen 


14  Ladies  in  the  Fiecd. 

galloping  down  a  steep  hill  in  Leicestershire, 
the  reins  on  his  horse's  neck,  his  knife  in  his 
mouth,  mending  the  lash  of  his  whip.  In  fact, 
a  good  deal  of  the  hard  riding  one  sees  is  often 
due  to  what  is  called  "jumping  powder,"  or 
the  imbibing  of  liqueurs  and  spirits.  For  hard 
riding,  it  should  never  be  forgotten,  is  essen- 
tially  not  good  riding.  The  fine  old  sportsman, 
ripened  by  experience,  who,  while  quietly 
weighing  the  chances  against  him,  and  per- 
fectly aware  of  the  risks  he  runs,  is  yet  ready 
to  face  them  boldly,  with  all  the  resources  of 
a  cool  head  and  a  wide  knowledge,  is  on 
the  high  road  to  being  a  hero.  These  calm, 
unassuming,  courageous  men  are  those  who 
make  their  mark  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  to 
whom  the  great  Duke  of  Wellington  referred 
when  he  spoke  of  the  hunting-field  being  the 
best  school  of  cavalry  in  the  world. 

Most  of  us  want  to  fly  before  we  can  walk. 
This  vaulting  ambition  accounts  for  the 
contemptible  spectacles  that  occasionally 
meet  our  sight.  A  city  man,  who  has  had 
half-a-dozen  riding  lessons,  an  enriched  trades- 
man,   or   an   unsportmanlike   foreigner,  must 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  1 5 

needs  start  a  stud  of  hunters.  We  all  re- 
member the  immortal  adventures  of  Jorrocks 
and  Soapy  Sponge,  but  how  often  do  we  see 
scenes  quite  as  ludicrous  as  any  depicted 
in  Sartees'  delightful  volumes.  Because 
everyone  he  knows  goes  across  country, 
the  novice  believes  fondly  that  he  can  do 
the  same.  He  forgets  that  the  real  sports- 
man has  ridden  from  earliest  childhood; 
has  taken  his  falls  cheerfully  off  a  pony ; 
and  learned  how  to  ride  without  stirrups,  often 
clinging  on  only  bareback;  has  watched, 
while  still  a  little  chap  in  knickerbockers 
or  white  frocks,  holding  tight  to  the  obliging 
nurse's  hand,  some  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
stable ;  has  seen  the  horses  groomed  and 
shod,  physicked  or  saddled,  with  the  keen 
curiosity  and  interest  of  childhood,  and 
has  grown  up,  as  it  were  in  the  atmosphere 
of  the  stable.  Every  English  boy,  the  son 
of  a  country  gentleman,  loves  the  scent  of 
the  hay,  not  perhaps  poetically  in  the 
hay  field,  but  practically  in  the  manger. 
He  knows  the  difference  in  the  quality  of 
oats,    and   the   price    of  straw,    the   pedigree 


1 6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

of  the  colts,  and  the  performances  of  the 
mares,  long  before  he  has  mastered  the 
intricacies  of  Euclid,  or  the  diction  of 
Homer.  To  ride  is  to  him  as  natural  as  to 
walk,  and  he  acquires  a  seat  and  hands  as 
unconsciously  as  the  foals  learn  to  trot  and 
jump  after  their  mother ;  and  consequently, 
as  riding  is  an  art  eminently  necessary  to  be 
acquired  in  youth,  everything  is  in  his 
favour,  when  in  after  life  the  poor  and  plucky 
subaltern  pits  himself  on  his  fifty-guinea 
screw  against  the  city  magnate  riding 
his  four  -  hundred  -  guinea  hunter.  Fortun- 
ately this  is  so,  for  riding,  while  entrancing 
to  its  votaries,  is  also  an  expensive  amuse- 
ment ;  yet  so  long  as  a  man  has  a  penny 
in  his  pocket  that  he  can  legitimately  dis- 
pose of  for  amusement,  so  long  would  one 
wish  him  to  spend  it  thus,  for  the  moral 
qualities  necessary  to  make  a  good  rider  are 
precisely  those  which  have  given  En g] and  her 
superiority  in  the  rank  of  nations.  The  Irish 
with  their  ardent  and  enthusiastic  natures, 
are  essentially  lovers  of  horses ;  and  an  Irish 
hunter   is    without    exception    the    cleverest 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  1 7 

in  the  world.  He  has  generally  a  light  mouth, 
always  a  leg  to  spare,  and  the  nimbleness 
of  a  deer  in  leaping.  Apropos  of  the  latter 
quality,  I  remember  the  answer  of  an  Irishman 
who  was  selling  a  horse,  when  asked  if  he 
could  jump, — 

"  Is  't  lep,  ye  mane,  yer  honour  ?  Well 
there  never  was  a  leper  the  likes  of  him  ! ' 

"  Does  he  feed  well  ? " 

"  Feed,  yer  honour  ?  He'd  fatten  on  a 
bowling  alley  ! " 

Hunting;  in  Ireland,  while  rougher  and  more 
unconventional,  is  certainly  safer  than  in 
England.  The  fences  are  big,  but  you  do  not 
as  a  rule  ride  so  fast  at  them,  and  are  there- 
fore not  so  likely  to  get  a  bad  fall ;  in  addition, 
there  is  rarely  if  ever  any  timber  to  jump. 
But  against  that,  there  are  a  great  many 
stone  walls,  and  nasty  big  black  ditches,  called 
drains,  which  are  boggy  and  unfathomable, 
and  the  banks  of  which  are  rotten ;  and  there 
is  no  road  riding  possible,  and  few  gates, 
while  lanes  are  rare  and  far  between.  Never- 
theless, I  believe  it  is  the  best  hunting  country 
for    ladies.      It  has    no    big    hairy    fences   to 

£ 


1 8  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

scratch  your  face  and  tear  your  habit,  and  no 
ox-rails ;  the  country  is  grass  and  beautiful 
going ;  you  can  ride  a  horse  a  stone  lighter 
than  in  England,  and  on  a  good  bold  horse 
you  can  go  pretty  nearly  straight. 

The  vexed  question  of  habits  appears  now 
to  be  one  of  the  most  serious  matters,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  many  accidents  that  have 
happened  to  ladies.  When  I  began  riding,  we 
wore  habits  that  tore  if  they  caught,  and, 
consequently,  no  one  was  ever  hung  up  or 
dragged.  The  strong  melton  cloth  of  the 
present  day  does  not  give  at  all,  and  there- 
fore is  a  source  of  great  danger  if  the  habit 
catches  on  the  pommel.  None  of  the  so- 
called  safety  habits  up  to  the  present  seem 
to  be  absolutely  satisfactory,  nor  any  of  the 
dodges  of  elastic  or  safety  stirrups.  Mr  Scott, 
Jr.,  of  South  Molton  Street,  has  invented  the 
latest  safety  skirt,  but  this  is  in  reality  no 
habit  at  all,  only  an  apron,  and  therefore  can 
scarcely  be  called  a  skirt.  One  great  security 
is  to  have  no  hem  to  the  habit.  Another  is, 
to  be  a  good  rider  (for  the  bad  riders  always 
fall  on  the  off  side,  which  is  the  reason  their 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  1 9 

habit  catches  on  the  crutch).  The  third  is  to 
have  a  habit  made  of  tearable  material ;  and 
this,  I  believe,  is  the  only  solution  of  the 
question,  unless  ladies  decide  definitely  to 
adopt  a  man's  dress.  Meanwhile,  I  would  im- 
press upon  all  women  the  great  danger  of 
hunting,  unless  they  are  fully  capable  of 
managing  their  horses,  choosing  their  own 
place  at  a  fence,  omitting  to  ride  over  their 
pilot,  or  to  gallop  wildly  with  a  loose  rein, 
charging  every  obstacle  in  front  of  them,  and 
finally,  unless  they  have  some  experience  in 
the  art  of  horsemanship. 

Military  men  possess  great  advantages  in 
the  hunting  field.  To  begin  with,  they  are 
taught  to  ride,  and  probably  have  passed 
some  years  in  India,  where  the  exercise  is 
commonly  preferred  to  walking.  Ladies  of  all 
ages  and  figures  ride  there,  and,  no  doubt, 
in  so  doing,  preserve  their  health  and  their 
looks.  There  is  a  peculiar  charm  in  Indian 
riding.  It  is  indulged  in  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, when  the  body  is  rested,  the  nerves 
strong,  and  the  air  brisk  and  fresh ;  or  at 
eventide,  when  the  heat  of  the  day  is  over, 


2o  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

and  a  can  tor  in  the  cool  breeze  seems  pecu- 
liarly acceptable.  How  delightful  are  those 
early  morning  rides,  when,  after  partaking  of 
the  refreshing  cup  of  tea  or  coffee,  your 
"syce"  or  groom  brings  the  pawing  steed  to 
your  door,  and  once  in  the  saddle,  you  wTancler 
for  miles,  with  nothing  to  impede  your  pro- 
gress but  an  occasional  low  mud  wall,  or  bank 
and  ditch,  which  your  horse  takes  in  his 
stride,  or  a  thorny  "  nullah,"  up  and  down 
whose  steep  sides  you  scramble.  There  is 
something  fascinating  in  the  seuse  of  space 
and  liberty,  the  feeling  that  you  can  gallop  at 
your  own  sweet  will  across  a  wide  plain, 
pulled  up  by  no  fear  of  trespassing,  no  gates 
nor  fences  nor  unclosed  pastures  with  carefully 
guarded  sheep  and  cattle,  no  flowery  cottage 
gardens ;  the  wide  expanse  of  cloudless  sky 
above  you,  the  golden  plain  with  its  sandy 
monotony  stretched  out  in  front,  broken  only 
by  occasional  clumps  of  mango  trees,  or  tilled 
spaces,  where  the  crops  grow,  intersected  by 
small  ditches,  cut  for  the  purposes  of  irriga- 
tion—free as  a  bird,  you  lay  the  reins  on  your 
horse's  neck,  and  go  till  he  or  you  are  tired. 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  2 1 


<^ 


Or  in  northern  India,  on  a  real  cold,  nipping 
morning    before    sunrise,    you    gather   at    the 
accustomed    trysting-place  and  hear  the  wel- 
come sound  of  the  hounds'  voices.     A  scratch 
pack,  they  are,  perhaps,  even    a  "  Bobbery " 
pack,  as  the  name  goes  in  India  ;    but  the  old 
excitement  is  on  you,  the  rush  for  a  start,  and 
the  sense  of  triumphant  exhilaration,  as  the 
hounds  settle  to  their  work,  and  the  wretched 
little  jackal,  or  better  still,  the  wolf,  takes  his 
unchecked  course  over  the  sandy  hillocks  and 
the  short  grass.     A  twenty-minutes'  run  covers 
the  horses  with  lather,  and  sets  your  pulses 
tingling.     Presently   the   sun  is  high   in  the 
horizon,  and  its  rays  are  beginning  to  make 
themselves    felt.     A   few  friendly   good-byes, 
some  parting  words  of  mutual  congratulation, 
and    you  turn    to    ride    gently  home,  with  a 
feeling  of  self-righteousness  in  your  heart,  as 
you  greet  the  lazy  sister,  or  wife,  or  brother, 
who  stands  in  the  verandah  looking  for  your 
coming.      A   bath— that   inestimable    Indian 
luxury — a  lingering  toilette,  and  so  to  break- 
fast.    And  what   a    breakfast,  with    a  lovely 
appetite  to  eat  it.     Fish,  beefsteaks,  cutlets, 


22  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the  most  savoury  and  delicate  of  curries,  fruit 
and  coffee,  ought  to  satisfy  a  Sybarite.  After 
which  a  cigarette  on  a  lounge  in  the  verandah 
maybe  indulged  in.  By  this  time  the  day  is  only 
just  begun,  and  you  are  free  to  fill  the  remain- 
ing hours  with  work  or  the  claims  of  societv. 

Most  lovers  of  horseflesh,  seizing  their  sun- 
hats  from  the  peg,  sally  out  into  the  "  com- 
pound "  (a  kind  of  grass  enclosure  with  a 
few  mango  or  tamarisk  trees  planted  in  the 
middle,  the  low  roofs  of  the  stables  and  the 
native  servants'  dwellings  forming  a  back- 
ground  to  it),  and  talk  that  cheery  rambling 
talk  all  true  sportsmen  delight  in. 

The  horses,  some  in  their  stalls,  some 
picketed  outside  under  the  trees,  are  munch- 
ing large  bundles  of  fresh  green  lucern  (a 
kind  of  vetch,  and  a  substitute  for  grass) ; 
while  the  ebon  grooms,  seated  on  their  haunches 
on  the  ground,  hold  bits  and  bridles  between 
their  toes,  and  rub  away  at  them  with  praise- 
worthy energy.  On  one  side  are  the  polo  and 
harness  ponies,  the  match  pair  which  the  lady 
shows  you  with  pride ;  on  the  other,  the  pony 
unbroken   and  savage,  just  bought  at  a  fair 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  23 

while  beyond  are  two  or  three  "  whalers," 
fine  sixteen -hand  upstanding  horses,  all  pro- 
nouneed  excellent  fencers  and  first-rate  pig- 
stickers. The  grey  yonder,  a  compact,  neat- 
looking  animal,  resembling  an  Irish  hunter, 
was  out  this  morning.  Like  most  Australian 
horses,  he  is  a  great  buck-jumper,  and  going 
to  covert  his  master  has  some  trouble  in  keep- 
ing a  steady  seat,  but  when  settled  down  into 
his  gallop,  no  mud  wall  is  too  high,  no  ditch 
too  broad,  and  no  day  too  long  for  him.  Many 
are  the  prize  spears  he  has  won  on  hardly-con- 
tested pig-sticking  expeditions. 

Then  on  Sunday,  the  clay  voted  to  sport 
in  India,  merry  paper  chases  fill  an  idle  hour 
or  two  just  before  sunset.  Any  old  screw, 
country-bred  pony  or  short-shouldered  Arab 
may  be  brought  out  on  these  occasions.  The 
hard  ground  resounds  with  a  noise  like  the  dis- 
tant roll  of  thunder,  as  the  line  of  horsemen 
clatter  along,  raising  a  cloud  of  dust  behind 
them.  Falls  abound,  for  the  pace  is  good,  and 
the  leader  of  the  chase  well  mounted. 

The    sugar   canes    rattle  crisply  like   peas 
on  a  drum,   as   you  push   your    way  quickly 


24  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

through  the  tall  grass   crops,    which,    forced 
violently   asunder  by   your  horse's   progress, 
fall  together  again,  and  leave  no  trace  of  your 
passage.     Down  a  soft,  sandy  lane,  you  canter, 
while  your  horse  sinks  in  up  to  his  fetlocks, 
past  a  dirty  little   native   village,   swarming 
with  black  children,  where  women  in  pictur- 
esque attitudes  lean  and  chatter  by  the  shady 
well;    then  over  a  rough,  stony  plain,  inter- 
sected  by   cracks  and   crevices   in   the   hard 
gaping  earth,  where  you  must  pick  your  way 
carefully,  and  hold  your  horse  together  lest  he 
break  his  leg  and  your  neck,  for  (drawback  of 
all  in  India)  the  ground  is  dreadfully  hard, 
and  falls  do  hurt.     At  last  the  chase  is  over, 
and  your  wearied  beast  stands  with  legs  apart 
and  nostrils  heaving,  trying  to  get  his  wind. 
The  sun  has  gone  down  in  the  sudden  fashion 
peculiar  to  tropical  climes.     Gloaming  there  is 
none,  but   a   lovely  starlight,  and   the  clear 
rays   of   the   moon    to    guide   you   safely  on 
your   way   home.       Buddy   lights    shine   out 
from   the   native   huts,    sundry   fires   shed   a 
wild  lustre,  the  faint,  sickly  odour  of  tobacco 
and    opium    fills    the    air,    and     the    weird 


Riding  in  Ireland  and  India.  25 

beating     of    a    tom-tom    is     heard    in     the 
distance. 

For  those  to  whom  such  a  wild  hot  scramble, 
or  the  long  free  gallop  over  the  plains  does 
not  appeal,  there  is  the  pleasant  ride  along  the 
mall  under  the  flowering  acacia  trees,  where 
friends  meet  you  at  every  step,  and  your  easily- 
cantering  Arab,   with  flowing  mane  and  tail, 
is  in  harmony  with  the   picturesque  Oriental 
scene.     Everyone  rides  in  India,  for  in  many 
places   it  is    the    only  means  of  transit.     In 
Assam  and  Central  India,  where  roads  are  bad, 
or  non-existent,  and  the  railroads  are  many 
miles  away,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
tea-planter  to  reach  his  plantations  on  horse- 
back, riding  long  distances  over  rough  ground  ; 
while  the  commissioner  or  civilian  making  his 
judicial  rounds,  or  the  sportsman  in  search  of 
big  game,  rides  his  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  a 
day,  camping  out  in  the  jungle  at  night.     The 
lowest  subaltern    owns    a    pony  or   two,   and 
rides  to    and  from  his    military  duties,    and 
the  pony  may  be  seen  led  up  and  down  in 
front  of  the  mess  house,  or  standing  playfully 
flicking  the  flies  off  with  his  tail,   while  the 


26  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

faithful  syce,  his  lean  brown  limbs  trained  to 
exceeding  fineness  by  the  long  distances  he 
runs,  squats  meekly  on  the  dusty  ground,  and 
calls  his  charge  by  all  sorts  of  endearing  names, 
which  the  animal  seems  perfectly  to  under- 
stand. Hand-iubbing,  or  what  is  vulgarly 
called  "  elbow  grease,"  is  much  practised  in 
India,  and  a  groom  attentive  to  his  duties 
takes  a  pride  in  polishing  a  horse's  coat  till  it 
is  smooth  and  glistening  as  satin.  Notwith- 
standing this  personal  care,  however,  Indian 
horses,  especially  country-breds,  are  not  famed 
for  the  sweetness  of  their  tempers,  and  gener- 
ally disagreeably  resent  their  masters'  at- 
tempt to  mount.  This  has  accordingly  to  be 
done  in  the  most  agile  manner.  Animals  may 
be  seen  kicking,  biting,  plunging  and  even  fly- 
ing at  one  another  like  savage  dogs,  with  teeth 
exposed,  lips  drawn  back,  nostrils  heaving  and 
eyes  flashing.  Yet  few  people  would  exchange 
the  wild,  daring  horsemanship  of  India  with  its 
pig-sticking  and  its  wild  game  hunting,  neces- 
sitating the  utmost  degree  of  nerve  and 
deteimination,  for  the  flat  and  unprofitable 
constitutional    in    Eotten   Eow,   the    country 


Riding  in  Ire/and  and  India.  27 

ride    alongr    a    road,  or  even    the    delights    of 
fox-hunting  in  England. 

Kiding  men,  who  love  the  sport  for  its  own 
value,  are  usually  sunny-tempered,  kindly  at 
heaic,  and  generously  disposed.  Women,  who 
ride,  are  easy  to  please  and  unaffected  ;  in  fact, 
what  many  men  describe  as  "  a  good  sort."  In 
conclusion,  my  advice  to  girls  is,  to  take  a 
riding  man  for  a  husband,  and  to  follow  them- 
selves as  far  as  possible  all  out-door  pursuits 
anel  amusements.  Their  moral  qualities  will 
not  suffer  from  it,  while  their  physique  will 
gaiu  considerably,  for  bright  eyes,  a  clear  com- 
plexion, and  a  slim  figure  are  beauties  never  to 
be  despised. 

Violet  Greville. 


HUNTING  IN  THE  SHIRES. 


HUNTING   IN  THE   SHIRES. 

"There  are  emotions  deeply  seated  in  the 
joy  of  exercise,  when  the  body  is  brought 
into  play,  and  masses  move  in  concert,  of 
which  the  subject  is  but  half  conscious. 

"Music  and  dance,  and  the  delirium  of 
battle  or  the  chase  acts  thus  upon  spontane- 
ous natures. 

"  The  mystery  of  rhythm  and  associated 
energy  and  blood-tingling  in  sympathy  is 
here.  It  lies  at  the  root  of  man's  most 
tyrannous  instinctive  impulses." 

Considering  that  J.  Addiugton  Symonds  was 
a  permanent  invalid,  exiled  to  Davos  by  his 
health,  he  shows  in  this  paragraph  extra- 
ordinary understanding. 

Fox-hunting  is  not  merely  an  idle  amuse- 
ment ;  it  is  an  outlet  for  man's  natural  in- 
stincts ;  a  healthy  way  of  making  him  active, 
and  training  his  character.     Whether  it  exer- 

31 


\2  Ladies  in  the  Field. 


o 


cises  his  mental  faculties  in  a  like  degree  is 
another  question.  I  do  not  think  a  man  can 
be  very  stupid  who  rides  well  to  hounds. 
The  qualifying  remark  that  "he  is  so  per- 
fectly mounted "  rather  adds  to  his  credit 
than  otherwise,  for,  with  unlimited  means, 
and  the  best  possible  intention  it  is  difficult 
in  these  days  of  competition  to  get  together 
a  stud  of  hunters  of  the  right  stamp. 

People  vary  considerably  in  their  notions 
of  the  right  stamp  ;  but  most  men  and  women 
who  know  anything  about  horses  look  out 
for  quality,  good  bone,  loose  elbows,  active 
shoulders,  strong  back,  clean  hocks,  and  a 
head  put  on  the  right  way  ;  whether  in  a 
horse  over  sixteen  hands  or  a  pony.  A 
judge  of  horse  flesh  will  never  be  mistaken 
about  these  qualifications,  either  in  the  mean- 
est-looking cab  horse  or  a  rough  brute  in  a 
farmyard. 

Hunting  people  of  long  experience  will  tell 
us  they  have  had  one  horse  in  their  lives. 
One  that  suited  their  temperament,  that  they 
took  greater  liberties  with,  that  gave  them 
fewer    falls,   and    showed    them    more    sport 


H tinting  in  the  Shires.  ^^ 

than  all  the  others.  Whyte  Melville  says, 
"  Forty  minutes  over  an  enclosed  country 
establishes  the  partnership  of  man  and  beast 
in  relation  of  confidence."  The  combination 
of  pluck,  decision  and  persuasion  in  a  man, 
and  nervous  susceptibility  in  a  horse,  begets 
intimacy  and  mutual  affection  which  many 
married  couples  might  envy.  One  horse  may 
make  a  man's  reputation,  and  pleasantly  raise 
the  average  of  an  unequal,  even  shady,  lot 
in  his  sale  at  Tattersall's. 

I  had  a  brown  horse  that  did  a  great  deal 
for  me.  He  was  nearly  thorough-bred ;  by 
Lydon,  dam  by  Pollard,  15*3,  with  beautiful 
limbs  and  freedom.  He  had  poor  ribs,  rather 
a  fractious  mouth,  and  the  courage  of  an 
army.  I  hunted  him  for  six  seasons ;  in 
Cheshire,  Yorkshire,  Lincolnshire,  Wiltshire, 
Gloucestershire,  Bedfordshire,  Leicestershire, 
Buckinghamshire,  and  Northamptonshire,  and 
he  never  gave  me  a  fall. 

I  once  fell  off  him.  After  an  enormous 
jump  over  an  average  fence,  prompted  by 
a  feeling  of  power  and  capacity,  he  gave  a 
sort  of  skip  on  landing,  and  on  this  provoca- 

C 


34  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

tion  I  "  cut  a  voluntary,"  to  use  a  sporting 
phrase.  He  died  of  lockjaw,  to  my  unceasing 
regret.  I  remember  in  1885  being  mounted 
on  an  extraordinary  hunter.  I  had  not  gone 
ten  strides  before  I  knew  I  could  not  hold 
him.  My  patron,  on  receiving  this  informa- 
tion, said,  "  What  does  it  matter !  hounds 
are  running  —  you  surely  don't  want  to 
stop  ? '  "  Oh,  no  ! '  I  replied,  "  but  I  cannot 
guide  him."  "That  doesn't  matter — they 
are  running  straight,"  so,  stimulated  by  this 
obvious  common  sense,  I  went  on  in  the 
delirium  of  the  chase,  till  I  had  jumped  so 
close  to  an  innocent  man  that  my  habit 
skirt  carried  off  his  spur,  and,  in  avoiding 
a  collision  at  a  ford,  I  jumped  the  widest 
brook  I  have  ever  seen  jumped ;  and  after 
that  I  got  a  pull  at  him.  He  could  not  put 
a  foot  wrong,  and  was  perfectly  unconscious 
of  my  wish  to  influence  him. 

I  be^an  hunting  with  the  inestimable 
advantage  of  possessing  no  horses  of  my 
own.  For  four  years  I  rode  hired  horses, 
and  had  many  uncouth  falls,  but  I  never 
hurt    myself  or   my   horse.      There   is   free- 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  35 

masonry  among  ''hirelings,"  I  think:  they 
know  how  to  protect  themselves  and  their 
riders.  They  jump  without  being  bold;  they 
are  stale  without  being  tired ;  and  they  live 
to  be  very  old  ;  by  which,  I  presume,  they 
are  treated  better  than  one  would  suppose. 
The  first  horse  I  ever  possessed  of  my  own 
cost  £100,  and  was  called  Pickwell,  after  a 
manor  house  in  Leicestershire.  He  was  15*2, 
with  a  swivel  neck.  For  the  benefit  of  people 
who  do  not  understand  this  expression,  I  will 
say  he  could  almost  put  his  head  upon  my 
lap.  He  was  a  very  poor  "  doer,"  and,  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  season,  assumed  the 
proportions  of  a  tea-leaf,  and  had  to  be  sold. 
He  could  not  do  a  whole  day  even  when  only 
hunted  three  days  a  fortnight.  He  was  an 
airy  performer,  and  I  was  sorry  to  part  with 
him.  I  hunted  him  with  the  Grafton,  the 
Bicester,  and  Selby  Lownides.  Parts  of  the 
Grafton  country  are  as  fine  as  Leicestershire, 
without  having  quite  its  scope  or  freedom. 
It  is  a  very  sporting  country,  with  fine 
woodlands  and  good  wild  foxes.  When 
I    hunted   there    we    had,    in     Frank    Beers, 


2,6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

as  good  a  huntsman  as  you  could  wish  to 
see. 

In  a  paper  of  this  length  any  criticism  of 
the  various  merits  of  hunting  countries  would 
be  impossible.  In  a  rough  w^ay  this  is  how 
I  should  appraise  them.  The  Cottesmore  for 
hounds.  The  Burton  for  foxes.  The  Holder- 
nesse  for  horses.  The  Pytchley  for  riders, 
and  the  Quorn  for  the  field. 

This  needs  some  explanation. 

The  Cottesmore  is  the  most  beautiful  hound 
country  in  England.  It  is  wild  and  undis- 
turbed :  all  grass,  and  carrying  a  good  scent. 
No  huntsman  can  interfere  with  his  hounds, 
and  no  field  over-ride  them,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  they  cannot  reach  them  easily. 
The  drawbacks  of  this  from  a  horseman's 
point  of  view  are  as  obvious  as  the  advan- 
tages to  a  houndman's.  The  country  is  very 
hilly  in  parts,  and  a  good  deal  divided  by 
unjumpable  "bottoms,"  which  the  experienced 
do  not  meddle  with,  and  which  are  onlv 
worth  risking  if  you  get  awray  on  good 
terms  with  the  pack,  "wdrile  they  stream 
across  the  first  field  with  a  dash  that  brings 


Htm  ting  in  the  Shires,  37 

the  mettle  to  your  heart  and  the  blood  to 
your  brain,"  and  your  instinct  tells  you  that 
you  are  in  for  a  good  thing !  You  gain 
nothing  by  chancing  one  of  these  bottoms 
in  an  average  hunting  run.  The  scientific 
subscriber  who  knows  every  inch  of  the 
country  will  be  in  front  of  you,  and  you 
are  fortunate  if  you  get  your  horse  out 
before  dark.  Brookesby  thus  describes  the 
Cottesmore  : — "A  wide-spread  region,  scarcely 
inhabited ;  ground  that  carries  a  scent  in 
all  weathers  ;  woodlands  which  breed  a  travel- 
ling race ;  and  mile  upon  mile  of  untracked 
grass,  where  a  fox  will  meet  nothing  more 
terrifying  than  a  bullock." 

If  hounds  really  race  over  the  hilly  part 
of  the  Cottesmore,  no  horse  or  rider  can 
follow  them  straight.  He  must  use  his  head 
and  eyes,  not  merely  test  his  pluck  and 
quickness. 

He  need  never  lose   sight  of   the  pack   if 
he  is  clever,  and  he  will  see  a  vision  of  grass 
landscape    stretching   away   below    him,    and 
all  around  him,  that  will  not  fade  with  the 
magic  of  the  moment. 


38  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

There  are  people  who  predict  the  abolition 
of  fox-hunting;  in  England.  These  think 
themselves  the  penetrating  observers  of  life  ; 
they  are  really  the  ignorant  spectators,  who 
take  more  trouble  to  avoid  barbed  wire  than 
to  prevent  it  being  put  up  ;  people  who 
join  in  the  groan  of  the  times,  without  energy 
or  insight.  Prophecies  of  this  kind  should 
have  no  value,  unless  it  be  to  make  hunting 
people  more  consciously  careful.  Since  there 
are  larger  subscriptions  than  ever,  and  more 
people  hunt,  we  can  only  trust  that  com- 
pensation will  be  given  liberally,  but  not 
lavishly,  and  upon  principles  of  good  sense 
and  justice.  I  have  thus  digressed  merely 
to  say  that  if  such  a  day  should  arrive, 
hunting  is  likely  to  survive  longer  in  the 
Cottesmore  than  in  most  countries. 

The  Burton  (Lincolnshire)  presents  a  strik- 
ing contrast  to  the  Cottesmore.  It  is  as 
flat  as  Holland,  and  you  must  be  on  the 
back  of  hounds  if  you  wish  to  see  them 
work.  Most  of  the  country  is  ploughed,  and, 
by  a  time-honoured  custom  which  brought 
both  credit  and  money   to  the    Lincolnshire 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  39 

farmers,  many  of  the  fields  are  double 
ploughed.  This  latter,  to  ride  over,  is  only  a 
little  better  than  steam  plough.  As  the  price 
of  wheat  in  England  has  fallen  by  30  per 
cent,  the  farmers  are  ruined,  and  they  are 
laying  down  more  grass  every  year.  The 
characteristic  fence  of  the  county  is  a  wide 
drain  set  a  little  away  from  the  hedge 
and  cut  very  deep.  The  upstanding  fences, 
although  lower  than  those  in  the  shires, 
are  pretty  high  if  you  look  at  the  depth  of 
the  ground  from  which  you  take  off. 

The  gorse  covers  are  splendidly  thick  and 
overgrown  and  take  a  long  time  to  draw  ; 
a  good  many  of  the  fashionable  packs,  I 
know,  would  hesitate  to  expose  themselves 
to  such  rough  work  as  drawing  Toff  Newton 
or  Torrington  gorse.  The  foxes  are  more 
like  Scotch  foxes,  large  and  grey.  They  are 
wild,  and  take  some  killing,  sometimes  run- 
ning for  two  hours.     There  are  not  enough 

o  o 

inhabitants  to  head  them  or  cheer  the 
discouraged  huntsman  by  occasional  in- 
formation. 

In  Cheshire  I  saw  five  foxes  killed  on  one 


40  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

da3^,  but  a  huntsman  in  Lincolnshire  will  be 
lucky  if  he  kills  two  in  a  week. 

I  hunted  two  winters  with  the  Burton 
hounds,  and  I  am  sure  the  largest  field  I 
ever  saw  was  twenty  people.  The  master, 
huntsman  and  two  whips  included.  Hunt- 
ing in  a  big  country  with  a  small  field  and 
wild  foxes  is  the  best  way  of  learning  to  be 
independent.  If,  as  was  my  experience,  you 
have  a  hard-riding  huntsman,  who  gets  down 
early  in  the  run  ;  one  whip  who  takes  the 
wrong  turn  out  of  cover,  and  the  other  who 
hangs  back  after  a  refractory  couple  of  hounds, 
a  few  poorly-mounted  farmers  and  unlucky 
gentlemen,  you  can  realise  with  moderate 
difficulty  the  possibility  of  the  proud  position 
of  being  alone  with  hounds ;  although  this 
distinction  may  be  capable  of  the  same  ex- 
planation as  was  the  position  of  the  Scotch 
boy  who,  when  boasting  of  being  second 
in  his  class,  was  compelled  to  admit  that  it 
consisted  of  "Me  and  a  lassie." 

I  said  the  Holdernesse  for  horses,  and  I 
certainly  never  saw  a  better  mounted  field 
or  a  finer  lot  of  riding  farmers — all  of  them 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  41 

sportsmen  and  gentlemen.  They  ask  long 
prices  for  their  young  horses,  if  they  will  sell 
them  to  you  at  all,  but  the  chances  are  they 
have  already  promised  them  to  some  London 
dealer.  Yorkshire  horses  are,  perhaps,  after 
Irish,  the  most  famous.  They  are  mostly 
thorough-bred,  and  can  gallop  and  stay.  I 
shall  never  forget  a  horse  I  held  for  a  young 
farmer  which  would  not  allow  him  to  mount. 
I  can  see  it  now,  A  long,  loose-limbed  bay, 
with  a  small,  keen,  bony  face,  and  an  eye 
that  looked  through  you.  I  have  a  great 
weakness  for  a  horse's  face,  and  think  in  a 
general  way  it  shows  as  much  character  as 
a  man's.  His  back  was  perhaps  a  trifle  too 
long,  but  his  girth  was  deep,  and  he  moved 
like  an  athlete.  He  was  as  wild  as  a  hawk, 
and  could  hardly  keep  still  for  love  of  life, 
dancing  at  every  shadow,  and  springing  feet 
into  the  air  when  anyone  passed  too  near 
him.  He  was  beautifully  ridden  and  humoured 
and  ultimately  settled  into  the  discouraging 
trot  known  as  "  hounds  pace."  I  asked  his 
owner  what  he  wanted  for  him,  and  how  old 
he  was.     The  man  said  that  he  was   rising 


42  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

six,  that  he  wanted  £300,  and  had  often 
refused  £250.  We  had  a  long  talk,  as  we 
trotted  down  the  road  to  draw  the  next 
cover,  about  horses  in  general  and  his  bay 
in  particular.  I  fancy  his  feats  lost  nothing 
by  being  repeated,  but  I  shall  not  relate 
them,  as  what  they  gained  by  tradition 
they  would  lose  by  print. 

The  Holdernesse  is  a  light  plough  country, 
and,  like  Lincolu shire,  its  common  fence  is 
a  deep  drain,  into  which  your  horse  can 
absolutely  disappear.  I  saw  eight  men  down 
in  one,  all  at  the  same  time,  and  a  young 
thorough-bred  horse  in  a  deep  drain  is  about 
the  worst  company  in  the  world. 

There  is  not  a  finer  country  to  ride  over 
in  England  than  the  Pytchley.  Unfortunately, 
too  many  people  agree  with  us,  which  is  a 
slight  objection  to  hunting  there. 

They  have  wonderful  sport,  a  first-rate 
huntsman  and  a  rich  community.  Lord 
Spencer  is  the  keenest  of  masters  and  best 
of  sportsmen.  Whyte  Melville  says  of 
him  in  his  riding  recollections  :  "  The  present 
Lord   Spencer,  of  whom  it  is  enough  to  say 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  43 

he  hunts  one  pack  of  his  own  in  Northamp- 
tonshire, and  is  always  in  the  same  field 
with  them,  never  seems  to  have  a  horse  pull, 
or,  until  it  is  tired,  even  lean  on  his  hand." 
I  should  like  to  have  been  praised  by  Whyte 
Melville.  He  is  one  of  the  few  novelists 
whose  heroes  are  gentlemen,  who  can  de- 
scribe English  society  and  a  straight  forty 
minutes  over  countries  that  we  recognise. 

The  Pytchley  is  not  cut  up  by  railroads, 
like  the  Quorn.  There  is  not  nearly  so 
much  timber  as  there  is  in  Leicestershire, 
but  it  is  as  bisr  if  not  bigger. 

In  old  days,  Lord  Spencer  told  me,  they 
said,  "  You  may,  perhaps,  go  through  the 
Pytchley,  but  you  must  get  over  the  Quorn." 

If  anything  will  teach  one  to  gallop,  it 
is  riding  for  a  bridle  gate  in  the  company 
of  three  or  four  hundred  people,  none  of 
them  morbidly  civil. 

You  must  get  there,  and  get  there  soon, 
as  it  is  the  only  visible   means  of  securing 
a  start,  or  getting  into  the  next  field.     Some- 
times  one's   horse   has    a    sensitive    habit    of 
backing   when   he   is   pressed,    which    allows 


44  Ladies' in  the  Field. 

everyone  to  pass  you.  In  any  case,  you 
will  have  a  horse's  head  under  each  arm ; 
a  spur  against  your  instep ;  a  kicker  with 
a  red  tape  in  his  tail  pressed  towards  your 
favourite  mare,  with  the  doubtful  consola- 
tion of  being  told,  when  the  iron  of  his  hoof 
has  rattled  against  her  fore-leg;  that  "it  was 
too  near  to  have  hurt  her."  Your  hat  will  be 
knocked  off  by  an  enthusiast  pointing  to  the 
line  the  fox  is  taking,  and  your  eye  will 
dimly  perceive  the  pack  swaying  over  the 
ridg;e  and  farrow,  like  swallows  crossing  the 
sea,  two  fields  ahead  of  you.  If  you  harden 
your  heart  and  jump  the  generally  gigantic 
fence  at  the  side  of  the  gate,  you  expose 
yourself  to  the  ridicule  of  the  whole  field  ; 
for  it  is  on  these  occasions  that  your  favourite 
is  pretty  sure  to  fall  on  her  head. 

No  one  is  responsible  for  the  manners  of 
a  field  which  is  largely  made  up  of  "  specials ' 
from  Kugby,  Leamington  and  Banbury.  A 
Northamptonshire  hunting-man  is  as  nice 
a  fellow  as  there  is  in  England,  and  out- 
side  his  own  country  has  the  finest  man- 
ners ;    but  the   struggle  for  existence  in  the 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  45 

field  with  hard-riding  casuals  has  hardened 
his  heart  and  embittered  his  speech. 

Every  field  has  its  own  character ;  an 
indescribable  "something"  which  one  feels 
without  being  able  to  define.  There  is  a 
friendliness  and  distinction  about  the  Melton 
field  peculiarly  its  own.  The  Quorn  Fridays 
are  joined  by  Mr  Fernie's  field,  the  Cottes- 
more, Bel  voir  and  others,  and  is  in  conse- 
quence very  large.  Tom  Firr,  the  huntsman 
— and  a  man  who  can  very  nearly  catch 
a  fox  himself — is  less  moved  by  a  large 
crowd  than  anyone  I  ever  saw,  unless, 
perhaps,  it  be  his  hounds  who  "come  up 
through  a  crowd  of  horses,  and  stick  to 
the  line  of  their  fox,  or  fling  gallantly 
forward  to  recover  it,  without  a  thought 
of  personal  danger,  or  the  slightest  mis- 
giving that  not  one  man  in  ten  is  master 
of  the  two  pair  of  hoofs  beneath  him,  carry- 
ing death  in  every  shoe." 

A  friend  of  mine — a  cricketer — said  that 
he  did  not  know  which  country  he  pre- 
ferred hunting  in — Leicestershire  or  North- 
amptonshire— but  there  was  the  same  differ- 


4.6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

ence  between  them  as  playing  at  Lords  and 
playing  at  the  Oval. 

Melton  Mowbray  is  about  three  hours  and 
a  half  from  London.  By  leaving  London 
at  7 '30  you  can  hunt  with  the  Pytchley 
at  an  eleven  o'clock  meet.  You  must  get 
up  earlier  to  hunt  with  the  Quorn.  I  doubt 
if  many  people  would  risk  leaving  London 
between  five  and  six  in  a  climate  like  ours, 
where  you  cannot  be  quite  sure  that  between 
five  and  eleven  heavy  snow  may  not  have 
fallen,  or  that  the  damp  in  one  county  is 
not  hard  black  frost  in  the  next. 

Some  say  that  Melton  is  not  what  it  was. 
Perhaps  this  is  because  there  are  no  poets 
left  to  sing  of  it.  Bromley  Davenport,  Why  te 
Melville  and  others  have  left  us.  Perhaps 
the  red  town  has  spread,  and  the  old  fox- 
hunters  who  grumble  have  grown  older.  Of 
course  the  old  days  were  better  when  they 
found  themselves  leading  "  The  cream  of  the 
cream  in  the  shire  of  the  shires."  These 
days  do  not  come  twice.  A  man  is  fortunate 
to  have  had  them  once,  and  be  able  to  say 
with  the  poet  and  philosopher, — 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  47 

Be  fair  or  foul,  or  rain  or  shine, 
The  joys  I  have  possessed  in  spite  of  fate  are  mine. 
Not  Heaven  itself  upon  the  Past  has  power. 
What  has  been  has  been,  and  I  have  had  my  hour. 

It  is  no  small  consideration  to  a  Meltonian 
that  he  can  hunt  six  days  a  week,  and  never 
leave  his  house  at  an  undue   hour. 

The  Duke  of  Beaufort  told  me  that  the 
three  best  huntsmen  living  were  Tom  Firr, 
old  Mr  Watson  (of  the  Carlow  hounds),  and 
Lord  Worcester,  and  he  is  pretty  sure  to 
be  right  on  any  sporting  matter.  Whatever 
people  may  think  of  the  last  two  named, 
Tom  Fin's  reputation  is  as  firmly  established 
as  was  Fred  Archer's  in  another  line. 

From  criticising  the  countries,  I  should  like 
to  pass  on  to  the  riders,  both  men  and  women, 
that  I  have  seen  and  admired  ;  but,  not  being 
a  journalist,  I  could  not  commit  this  indis- 
cretion. I  shall  content  myself,  and  perhaps 
not  offend  anyone,  by  writing  a  few  general 
observations  on  women's  riding. 

No  woman  can  claim  to  be  first-rate  over 
a  country,  unless  she  can  take  her  own  line. 
Most  women   have   pluck,   and  would  follow 


48  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

their  pioneer  were  he  to  attempt  jumping 
an  arm  of  the  sea ;  but  place  them  alone  in 
an  awkward  enclosure,  they  will  not  know  how 
to  get  out  of  it.  They  need  not  of  necessity 
take  a  new  place  in  every  fence,  but  if  a 
gap  is  away  from  the  line  they  imagine 
to  be  the  right  one,  it  is  irritating  to  see 
them  pull  out  to  follow  one  particular 
person.  They  don't  diminish  the  danger  by 
surrendering  their  intelligence,,  if  they  are 
well  mounted  and  conscious  of  what  they 
are  doing.  A  good  rider  chances  nothing, 
but  must  of  necessity  risk  a  good  deal. 

I  do  not  think  women  are  good  judges 
of  pace,  and  although  they  are  seldom  afraid 
of  jumping,  they  hardly  ever  gallop.  Men 
will  say  it  is  because  they  sit  on  one  side 
and  have  not  the  power  to  make  a  horse 
gallop.  This  is  obviously  true  in  the  case 
of  many  horses,  but  there  are  some  who, 
roused  by  the  nervous  force  in  their  riders, 
will  gallop  without  being  squeezed,  and  who 
want  nothing  more  than  to  be  held  together 
and  left  alone, 

There  is  a  great  deal   of  nonsense  talked 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  49 

about    "lifting'    and    "recovering'    a  horse. 
More   horses   have   recovered   themselves   by 
being    left    alone   in    moments    of    difficulty 
than    by   all   the    theories    ever   propounded. 
When    a    horse    pecks    with   a   man    he    is 
thrown   forward ;    a  woman,  if  she  is  sitting 
properly  and  not  hanging  her  toe  in  a  short 
stirrup,    is,    if  anything,    thrown  back,    and, 
from    the    security   of  her    seat,    is   able   to 
recover  her  horse  with  more  natural  advan- 
tage than  a  man.     A  woman's  seat  is  strong, 
but  never  balanced  ;  a  horse  refusing  suddenly 
to    the   left  may  upset  her   balance    without 
moving  her  in  her  seat.     When  a  horse  bucks, 
from    the   very   fact    that    to    keep    on,    she 
must  sit  tioht,  it  is  so  tiring  that  the  chances 
are  she  will  be  bucked  off  sooner  than  a  man. 
If  she  gets  the    least   out  of  her  saddle  she 
cannot,  by  reason  of  the  pommels,  get  back, 
whereas  a  horse  may  play  cup  and  ball  with 
a    man    for    a    long    time    without    missing 
him. 

There  are  two  classes  of  hunters  that  a 
woman  should  not  be  mounted  on ;  the  two 
that  Whyte  Melville  says  want  coercion. 

D 


$o  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

"  The  one  that  must  be  steered,  and  the 
other  smuggled  over  a  country."  A  nervous, 
fractious  brute  will  go  as  well,  if  not  better, 
with  a  woman  than  with  a  man  on  him. 

It  is,  I  suppose,  a  want  of  independence 
in  the  feminine  character  that  makes  most 
women  follow  some  particular  man.  They  are 
nearly  always  beautifully  mounted,  and  have 
keen  enough  observation  to  measure  the 
height  of  a  fence,  and  see  the  weak  place. 
You  will  hear  a  man  say  to  his  wife, — "  I 
must  give  Favourite  a  turn,  dear,  she  is  get- 
ting sticky,"  and  he  will  take  his  wife's  mare, 
an  accomplished  hunter,  wise  as  a  chape- 
ron, and  ride  her  with  a  cutting  whip.  It 
is  probably  the  result  of  always  following 
another  horse,  which  has  taken  the  spirit  of 
emulation  out  of  the  mare,  robbing  her  of 
a  sense  of  responsibility  and  a  chance  of  being 
anion o-  the  first  few  in  a  fine  run. 

A  man  seldom  rides  as  hard  if  he  is  followed 
by  a  lady.     He  loses  his  dash. 

At  one  time  no  woman  could  fall  without 
a  certainty  of  being  dragged  by  her  habit 
skirt,  or  her  stirrup  ;  but  now,  at  anyrate,  that 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  5 1 

danger  lias  been  removed,  by  Scott's  *  apron 
skirt,  and  Mayhew's  #  patent  side  saddle. 

I  saw  a  narrow  escape  once,  some  years  ago. 
A  young  lady  of  indifferent  nerve,  mounted 
by  a  male  relative  on  an  uncongenial  horse, 
trotted  slowly  down  hill  to  a  high  fence  to 
see  what  was  on  the  other  side.  The  horse, 
supposing  he  was  meant  to  jump  the  fence, 
not  unnaturally  proceeded  to  do  so,  much 
against  the  lady's  will.  Her  weak  resistance 
succeeded  in  landing  him  on  his  head,  in  a 
deep  ditch  on  the  other  side.  She  fell 
off,  and  was  hung  up  by  her  habit  skirt. 
The  horse  recovered  himself,  and,  feeling  a 
heavy  weight  on  one  side  of  him,  was  seized 
with  a  panic  of  fear,  and,  laying  back  his  ears, 
thundered  alons;  in  the  ditch  which  had  a 
gravelly  bottom.  A  gentleman,  unconscious 
of  what  had  happened,  rode  down  to  the  fence 
from  the  other  side,  and  canonned  upon  landing 
against  the  loose  horse  and  prostrate  lady ; 
they  all  rolled  over  together.  As  the  lady's 
head     had    apparently    been     bumping    the 

*  Scott  in  South  Molton  Street ;  and  Mayhew  in  Seymour 
Street,  Edge  ware  Road. 


52  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

grass  bank  for  some  twenty  yards,  we  sup- 
posed she  was  killed ;  but,  on  extrication,  she 
was  discovered  to  be  unhurt.  The  man  had 
broken  his  collar-bone.  Her  habit  was  of  the 
old-fashioned  kind,  and  did  not  give  way. 

Everyone  has  seen  similar  casualties,  and 
men,  as  well  as  women,  dragged  on  their 
heads ;  it  is  the  most  alarming  part  of 
hunting. 

I  am  told  that  there  is  a  great  art  in  falling, 
and  certainly  it  requires  judgment  to  know 
when  to  hold  on  and  when  to  let  go  of  the 
reins.  There  can  be  nothing  more  exasperat- 
ing to  a  man  than  to  loose  his  horse  in  a  trifl- 
ing accident,  when  he  has  a  first-rate  place 
at  the  beoiainno;  of  a  run.  A  friend  of  mine 
looking  over  a  dealer's  yard  stopped  before 
a  flea-bitten  mare.  He  said  he  would  like  to 
see  her  run  out,  as  she  looked  like  suiting 
him.  The  dealer  replied, — "  I  could  not 
honestly  recommend  her  to  you,  sir,  she 
would  run  away  with  you."  ''But,"  said 
my  friend,  "  she  is  the  very  animal  I  want ! 
The  last  one  I  had  ran  away  without  me." 

Loose  horses  are  trials  that  go  far  to  prov- 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  53 

ing  your  character ;  you  may  make  a  friend 
for  life  by  catching  his  horse.  There  are, 
of  course,  occasions  when  it  would  be  mere 
waste  of  time  attempting  anything  of  the 
sort,  when  a  stupid  animal  careers  wildly  away 
in  the  opposite  direction  of  hounds  ;  but  I 
am  often  struck  by  the  way  self- centred 
people  let  the  easiest  opportunities  pass  of 
serving  their  neighbours.  I  have  been  de- 
lighted  by  seeing  men,  purposely  looking 
the  other  way,  punished  by  the  confiding 
animal  going  straight  up  to  them,  making 
it  impossible,  with  the  best  show  of  clumsi- 
ness, to  avoid  bringing  him  back  to  his 
grateful  owner,  who  jerspiring,  runs  across 
the  ridge  and  furrow,  in  breeches  and  boots 
of  the  most  approved  fashion. 

There  is  one  other  and  last  side  of  fox- 
hunting with  which  I  will  conclude. 

E.  L.  Stevenson  says,  "  Drama  is  the  poetry 
of  conduct,  and  Komance  the  poetry  of  cir- 
cumstances." There  is  only  one  sport  that 
combines  drama  and  romance ;  the  sport  for 
kings.  There  are  days  when  your  very  soul 
would  seem  to  penetrate  the  gras°,  when,  with 


54  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the  smell  of  damp  earth  in  your  nostrils,  and 
the  rhythm  of  blood- stirring  stride  underneath 
you,  you  forget  everything,  yourself  included. 
These  days  live  with  you.  They  console  you 
for  the  monotony  of  Swiss  scenery.  They 
translate  you  out  of  fierce  Indian  sunshine  ; 
they  rise  up  between  }7ou  and  the  gaslight, 
and  shut  out  the  grey  grinding  streets.  You 
wake  up  to  ask  the  housemaid  half  uncon- 
sciously whether  it  is  freezing ;  the  answer 
leaves  you  uncertain,  and  you  jump  out  of  bed. 
There  is  a  damp  fog  on  the  window,  w^hich 
you  hastily  wipe  away,  to  see  the  paths  are 
brown,  and  the  slates  wet ;  there  is  no  sun 
and  no  wrind.  You  hear  the  tramp  of  the 
stable  boy's  feet  below  your  room,  and 
snatches  of  a  song  whistled  in  the  yard,  you 
can  see  the  clothes  line  hung  with  stable 
breeches,  and  a  very  old  dog  poking  about 
the  court.  You  tie  your  tie,  left  over  right, 
with  the  precision  of  habit,  and,  seizing  your 
letters,  run  down  to  breakfast.  You  are  in- 
dependent of  your  host ;  he  has  a  hack.  You 
ask  your  hostess  what  she  is  going  to  do  with 
herself,  w7hile  she  wTalks  across  the  yard  to  see 


Hunting  in  the  Shires,  55 

you  start  in  the  buggy.  You  let  the  boy 
drive  while  you  read  your  letters.  You 
thrust  them  into  your  pocket  and  bow  faintly 
over  a  high  coat  collar  as  you  swing  past  the 
different  riders  and  second  horsemen.  You  see 
your  horses  at  a  corner  of  the  road,  and  are 
told  you  cannot  ride  Molly  Bawn,  as  she  "  'it 
erself"  in  the  night — an  unsatisfactory  way 
horses  valuable  have  of  incapacitating  them- 
selves. You  get  on  your  horse  and  ride 
through  a  line  of  bridle  gates  till  you  find 
yourself  in  a  bewildering  throng  of  people  and 
horses,  just  outside  the  village.  Ladies  lean- 
ing over  their  splash  boards,  talking  to  fine 
young  gentlemen,  unconscious  of  their  shaft, 
which  is  tickling  a  horse  of  great  value,  the 
groom  leading  it,  too  anxious  about  his  own 
mount  to  observe  the  danger.  Children  back- 
ing into  bystanders,  with  their  habits  in 
festoons  over  the  crupper ;  ladies  standing  up 
in  their  carriages  divesting  themselves  of  their 
wraps,  and  husbands  unfastening  their  hat 
boxes;  dealers  discreetly  and  conspicuously 
taking  their  horses  out  of  the  crowd  and 
cantering  them  round  the  field  to  show  their 


56  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

slow  paces,  looking  down  at  the  ground  and 
sitting  motionless,  as  if  uneonseious  of  any  on- 
lookers. Hard,  weather-beaten  men  in  low 
crowned  hats,  with  double  snaffles  in  their 
horses'  mouths,  are  feeling  their  girths,  and 
ladies  in  long  loose  coats  explaining  to  their 
pilots  that  they  wear  their  strap  on  their  heels, 
not  on  their  toes.  Your  host  comes  up  now, 
and  you  wonder,  to  look  at  his  hack,  that  he 
ever  arrived  at  all.     You  ask  as  delicately  as 

you  can  what  he  is  riding.     "  Old  S n,"  he 

replies,  and  you  find  yourself  criticising  the 
winner  of  a  former  Grand  National.  In  all 
this  fret  and  fuss  Tom  Firr  sits  like  a  philo- 
sopher, surrounded  by  the  questioning  pack ; 
vouchsafing  an  occasional  remark  to  a  farmer 
or  a  patron  of  the  hunt.  At  last  the  vast 
field  is  set  in  motion,  and,  with  an  eye  on 
Firr,  you  jog  down  the  road  to  draw.  In- 
stead of  following  the  knowing  ones,  and 
standing  outside  the  covert  at  an  advantageous 
point  down  wind,  you  go  inside  and  watch  the 
hounds  dancing  through  the  little  copse, 
shaking  the  dewdrops  on  the  undergrowth, 
and   scattering  with  indifference  the  startled 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  57 

rabbit.  In  perfect  stillness  you  thread  your 
way  slowly  through  the  tangled  tracks,  your 
horse  arching  his  neck  and  pointing  his  toes 
as  if  he  were  stepping  to  the  drum  and  fife. 
There  is  a  spring  in  the  grass  path,  and  a 
thrill  in  the  air  which  makes  you  lift  your 
face  to  the  open  sky  as  if  to  receive  the 
essence  of  the  day,  and  a  blessing  from  the 
unseen  sun.  Suddenly,  without  warning,  a 
silver  halloa  rings  through  the  air,  driving  the 
blood  to  your  heart,  and  you  find  yourself 
wheeling  your  horse  round  and  crashing 
through  the  undergrowth  to  a  gap  you  had 
noticed  as  you  came  along.  The  whole  field 
is  thundering  round  the  cover  as  you  jump 
out  of  it  with  the  last  hound,  and  the  pack 
makes  hard  for  a  fence  of  impassable  thick- 
ness. Luckily  for  you  they  turn  up  it,  and 
a  lagging  hound  joins  his  friends  half  way 
up  the  fence,  where  the  growers  are  thinner. 
The  gate  is  locked,  but  the  rail  at  the  side  is 
jumpable,  and  your  horse  takes  off  accurately 
and  lands  you  in  the  same  field  as  hounds. 
You  find  yourself  with  Firr  and  five  or  six 
others,  who  have  galloped  twice  your  distance, 


58  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

to  catch  them.  You  avoid  a  boggy  gap, 
which  the  two  riders  ahead  of  you  are  making 
for,  and  catch  hold  of  your  horse  for  a  clean 
"  stake-and-bound."  It  is  down  hill,  and  you 
feel  as  if  you  never  would  land.  You  jump 
into  a  road,  and  nearly  fall  off  as  your  horse 
turns  suddenly  down  it,  following  the  other 
horses.  The  hounds  cross,  and  you  are 
carried  down  the  road  past  the  few  places 
where  you  could  jump  out,  and  the  people 
behind  profit  by  their  position  and  get  over 
where  hounds  crossed.  You  hammer  along 
the  road  with  twenty  people  shouting  "  Go 
on  ! "  whenever  you  want  to  stop,  till  an  open 
gate  takes  you  into  the  field,  where  you  see 
five  or  six  men  a  good  way  ahead  of  you. 
Nothing  but  pace  serves  you  then,  and  all  the 
warnings  in  the  world  that  there  is  wire,  or  a 
brook,  will  not  turn  you  from  your  intention 
to  catch  them  again. 

By  luck,  which  you  hardly  deserve,  the 
wire  is  loose  upon  the  ground,  and  you 
only  t wing-twang  it  with  one  shoe  as  you 
land,  and  are  off  again  before  it  curls  like 
a  shaving  round  your  horse's  leg. 


Hunting  in  the  Shires.  59 

You  have  put  wire  between  you  and  the 
field,  and  are  now  free  to  go  as  you  please  for 
the  next  twenty  minutes.  Firr  and  five 
others  are  your  only  rivals,  and  they  are 
ready  to  whistle  a  warning  where  the  country 
gets  complicated. 

The  pack  check  for  a  moment  outside  a 
small  cover,  but  the  fox  is  too  tired  and  too 
hard  pressed  to  go  into  it,  and  Firr  gets  their 
heads  down  with  a  sound,  quite  impossible  to 
spell,  and  five  minutes  after,  the  hounds  are 
tumbling  over  each  other  like  a  scramble  at 
a  school-feast,  and  Firr  holds  up  the  fox 
with  an  expression  in  his  face  as  if  he  could 
cat  him. 

•  ••••..., 

You  tuck  the  rug  round  you,  with  your 
mouth  full  of  buttered  toast.  Your  lamps  are 
lit,  and  the  sky  is  aglow. 

"Let  'em  go  please.  Cornel"  and  with  a 
bound  and  a  clatter  you  leave  the  sun  behind 
you,  and,  shaving  the  gate-post,  swing  down 
the  turnpike  home. 


HORSES  AND  THEIR  RIDERS. 


HOESES  AND  THEIR  RIDERS. 

Br  the  Duchess  of  Newcastle. 

Why  are  ladies  sometimes  considered  nuis- 
ances out  hunting  ?  Because  the  generality 
of  riders  are  unfortunately  in  the  way  of 
their  neighbours,  and  have  not  the  remotest 
idea  of  what  they  ought  to  do. 

Before  they  inflict  themselves  on  the  hunt- 
ing field,  they  should  learn  to  manage  their 
horses,  to  keep  out  of  the  way,  and  should 
they  wish  to  jump,  to  ride  straight  at  their 
fences,  not  landing  too  near  their  pilots,  and 
not  taking  anyone  else's  place.  When  once 
they  can  accomplish  so  much,  they  will  no 
longer  be  considered  troublesome.  In  fact, 
few  things  are  more  dangerous  than  riding 
in  Rotten  Row,  simply  because  the  greater 
part  of  the  riders  have  not  the  faintest  idea  of 
the  risks  they  incur.  You  will  see  both  young- 
men  and  young  women  galloping  recklessly 

^3 


64  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

along  with  a  perfectly  loose  rein,  sometimes 
knocking  down  tie  unfortunate  ones  wio 
happen  to  be  in  tteir  way,  and  followed  by 
grooms  wio  iave  usually  even  less  idea  of 
riclino-  and  finish  the  mischief  their    owners 

o 

have  begun. 

Then  the  untidy,  slipshod  way  the  riders 
are   often   turned    out    is    a    disgrace    to    a 
country    which    is    considered    to    have    the 
best  horses  and  riders  in  the  world.     What 
must    foreigners — Hungarians,    for    instance, 
who    know   something    of    riding,    of  horses, 
and    of    horsemen— think    of    tie     doubtful 
spectacle    two-thirds    of    the   riders   present. 
Poor  old   screws,   who  have   usually  to   pull 
the    family   coach   of  an   afternoon,    broken- 
down   hunters,  an   apology  for  hacks,  are   to 
be    seen    carrying   their    fair    burdens,    who 
look  anything  but  at  home  in  their  saddles, 
with   hair  piled    up   in   latest  but   most  un- 
workmanlike   fashion,    flapping   blouses,    and 
habits    that    look    as    though    night  -  gowns, 
still  worn,    were   beneath.     Of   course    many 
people    cannot   afford    expensive    hacks,    but 
I   would    sooner    any   day   have    a    broken- 


Horses  and  their  Riders.  65 

winded  or  broken-kneed  screw  that  was  well- 
bred  and  well-shaped,  than  a  sound  one 
who  looked  an  underbred,  lazy,  three-cornered 
beast.  Besides,  there  is  no  reason  why  any- 
one who  can  afford  a  horse  at  all,  should 
not  have  it  well  groomed,  with  neat  saddle, 
and  brightly-burnished  bit,  and  be  at  the 
same  time  smartly  turned  out  herself.  It  is 
as  cheap  to  be  clean  as  to  be  dirty ;  and  a 
little  extra  trouble  will  go  a  long  way  in 
the  desired  direction. 

For  the  safety  of  the  multitude,  it  would 
be  a  good  thing  if  all  people  who  are  going 
to  ride  or  drive  on  the  public  highway  were 
made  to  pass  an  examination  as  to  their 
capabilities,  and  I  do  not  believe,  if  that 
were  so,  that  half  of  the  present  riders  in 
the  road  would  be  admitted. 

Children  are  taught  to  ride  quite  on  the 
wrong  principle.  How  can  a  child  of  three 
understand  or  appreciate  a  ride  in  a  pannier 
on  some  fat  Shetland's  back?  The  acre  of 
eight  years  is  quite  soon  enough  for  any 
child  to  begin ;  before  that  time  it  is  im- 
possible   for    them    to    control    the    smallest 

E 


66  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

pony,  and  this  very  experience  often  destroys 
their  nerve. 

In  buying  a  pony,    be   very  sure  that   it 
is  sound,   with  a  nice   light  mouth ;    twelve 
hands  is  quite  small  enough.     Most  children's 
hands   are   spoilt   by   letting   them   learn   to 
ride  on  a  pony  destitute  of  any  mouth,  the 
result  is  they  learn  to  hold  on  by  the  poor 
thing's    bridle,    and    anyone   who    does   that 
can  never  ride  well.     Let  girls  first  learn  to 
stick  on  a  cross  saddle  before  putting  them 
on   a   side   saddle,   it    teaches    them    to    sit 
straight,    and    is    much   better   for    them   in 
every  way. 

Anyone   with  bad   hands  can  never  be    a 
really  good  rider.     You  can  go  hard,  be  able 
to  ride  a  horse  that  has  bad  manners,  such 
as  kicking,   bucking,   rearing,    running  away, 
for  that  is  simply  a   matter   of  nerve ;    but 
a   good    rider   means    someone    whose   horse 
always    goes    nicely    and    kindly,    who    does 
not  hang  on  his  mouth,  who  knows  how  to 
make    him   gallop,  and   can    ride    really  well 
at  a  fence.     Half  the  falls  out  hunting  come 
from    putting   your    horse    crookedly    at    the 


Horses  and  their  Riders.  67 

fence,  and  from  losing  your  head  when  he 
has  made  a  mistake. 

Always  endeavour — should  your  horse  come 
down  with  you,  and  you  have  not  parted  com- 
pany— to  keep  your  presence  of  mind.  Do 
not  try  to  get  off,  as  that  will  probably  lead 
to  a  worse  accident.  Leave  the  reins  alone, 
for  nothing  frightens  a  horse  more  when  he  is 
clown  than  touching  his  mouth  with  the  bit. 
Sit  quite  still,  and  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
you  will  be  able  to  continue  your  ride  without 
the  smallest  mishap,  or  even  a  dirty  back. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  on  the  subject 
of  ladies'  horses.  One  thing  is  quite  certain — 
they  cannot  be  too  good,  and  for  a  side-saddle 
a  fine  shoulder  is  indispensable  ;  for,  if  you 
ride  a  horse  without  it,  the  sensation  is  most 
unpleasant.  You  feel  as  though  you  were 
sitting  on  his  ears.  Before  mounting,  ahvays 
see  that  the  saddle  is  not  put  on  the  top  of 
the  withers,  but  just  behind  them,  so  that 
the  weight  does  not  fall  on  the  top  of  the 
shoulders.  Besides  being  less  likely  to  give  a 
sore  back,  the  rider  is  much  more  comfortable. 
The  reason  why  ladies  give   a  sore    back   so 


68  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

often  is  that  they  ride  with  too  long  a  stirrup, 
and  do  not  sit  straight.     Sit  well  to  the  off 
side,   and,   should    you  think   your  saddle  is 
not  quite  straight,  either  get  someone  to  alter 
it  for  you  or  go  home,  for  anything  is  better 
than  to  have  your  horse  laid  up  for  a  month 
with  a  bad  back.     I  think  a  well-bred  horse 
about  15*2,  with  a  nice  light  mouth,  is  the 
nicest  mount  for  a  woman.     For  if  one  gets 
a  really  good  fencer  and   galloper   this   size, 
he  is  far  better  than  a  big  underbred   horse 
that    tires    one    out   immediately.       But,    of 
course,  everyone  has  to  be  mounted  according 
to  her  wTeight.     A  nice  light  wTeight  can  see 
a  great  deal  of  sport  on  the  back  of  a  really 
good  pony  about  fourteen  hands.    It  is  wonder- 
ful the  big  fences  many  such  ponies  will  con- 
trive to  get  over,  if  they  really  mean  business. 
The  first  pony  I  ever  had  wTas  a  little  twelve- 
hand  Welsh  mare,  and  there  was  nothing  that 
pony  wouldn't  jump  or  scramble  over  somehow. 
What  wTas  too  high    for    her    she    would    get 
under.     She  could  crawl  and  climb  like  a  cat, 
and  gallop  faster  than  most  horses  ;  and,  when 
she  was  twenty  years  of  age,  was  as  fresh  as 


Horses  and  their  Riders.  69 

a  three-year-old.  In  fact,  my  brother  won 
three  races  of  five  furlongs  on  the  flat  with 
her,  against  much  bigger  ponies.  The  best 
thing  I  can  wish  any  of  our  readers  is  to  have 
another,  whether  horse  or  pony,  as  good  and 
as  game  as  she  was. 

K.  Newcastle. 


THE  WIFE  OF  THE  M.  F.  H 


THE  WIFE  OF  THE  M.F.H. 

By  Mrs  Chawobth  Musters. 

If  there  is  one  calling  in  which  a  real  help- 
mate can  be  of  more  use  to  a  man  than  any 
other,  it  is  in  that  many-sided  and  arduous 
undertaking   called  "  hunting  a  country." 

Not  that  it  is  to  be  desired  that  a  lady 
should  take  an  active  part  in  the  field  man- 
agement, like  the  well-meaning  dame  who  is 
reported  to  have  said  to  an  offender,  "If  I 
wTere  a  gentleman  I  would  swear  at  you."  But 
without  letting  zeal  outrun  discretion,  how 
much  may  a  ''mistress  of  hounds "  (as  we 
will  call  her  for  brevity's  sake)  do  to  pro 
mote  sport  and  good  feeling,  besides  deciding 
on  the  cut  of  a  habit,  and  on  who  is  to  be 
invited    to    wear    the  hunt  colours. 

"I  have  been  a    foxhunter  myself,  and   I 
know    how    selfish    they    are,"    was    the    re- 


74  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

mark  once  made  to  the  writer  by  an  old 
gentleman  in  Leicestershire,  and  it  must,  in 
candour,  be  admitted  that  there  was  some 
truth  in  his  agreeable   frankness. 

Now,  the  mistress  of  the  hounds  should 
do  all  in  her  power  to  make  hunting  ac- 
ceptable, by  trying  to  counteract  the  over- 
bearing egotism  which  no  doubt  is  apt  to 
be  the  effect  of  an  absorbing  pursuit  on 
men's  characters. 

She  should  bear  in  mind  that  hunting 
was,  after  all,  made  for  man,  and  not  man 
for  hunting,  and  that  because  some  people 
are  fortunate  enough  to  be  born  with  a 
taste  for  that  amusement,  combined  (which 
is  important)  with  the  means  of  gratifying 
it,  there  is  no  reason  why  others  less  happily 
gifted  should  be  despised  and  sent  to  the  wall. 

The  cause  of  fox-hunting  was  never  yet 
furthered  by  votaries,  who  appear  to  think 
everything  else  in  the  way  of  sport  un- 
worthy of  thought  or  notice.  "  Give  and 
take,"  should  be  their  motto,  as  well  as  that 
of  all  conditions  of  men,  in  fact,  "more  so' 
considering  that,  in    the   present    day,    most 


The  Wife  of  the  M.  R  H.  75 

followers  of  hounds  are  indebted  to  others 
for  their  fun,  and  do  not  own  a  yard  of  the 
land  they  ride  over. 

Many  a  man  is  "put  wrong"  for  life,  and 
hastily  designated  as  a  "  beastly  vulpecide," 
who  would  have  been  pleased  to  find  a  fox 
for  his  neighbours  now  and  then,  though  not 
caring  for  the  sport  himself,  if  he  had 
been  treated  with  the  consideration  generally 
shown  in  other  matters.  Therefore,  the  lady 
we  have  in  our  mind  will  do  all  she  can  to 
sympathise  with  the  pursuits  and  amuse- 
ments of  others  besides  hunting  people,  and 
will  do  her  best  to  destroy  the  idea  that  a 
fine  horsewoman  must  necessarily  be  "  horsey," 
or  a  lover  of  fox-hounds  "  doggy." 

Since  the  extraordinary  popularity  of  Whyte 
Melville's  and  Surtee's  novels  and  songs,  a 
generation  has  grown  up,  who  have  flattered 
themselves  into  the  belief  that  the  fact  of 
riding  after  hounds  at  once  makes  heroes 
and  heroines  of  them,  and  that  they  are 
almost  conferring  a  benefit  on  their  fellow- 
creatures  by  emulating  Kate  Coventry  or 
the  Honourable  Crasher. 


j 6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

Formerly  people  went  hunting  because 
they  liked  it,  now  with  many  it  is  a  means 
to  an  end,  a  passport  to  good  society,  a 
fashion  rather  than  a  taste. 

In  the  true  interests  of  fox-hunting  this 
is  to  be  deplored,  but  as  it  is  impossible  to 
separate  the  wheat  from  the  chaff,  a  mistress 
must  content  herself  with  smoothing  over 
difficulties,  with  trying  to  avoid  coll!sions 
between  those  who  live  in  a  country,  and 
those  who  hunt  in  it ;  and  it  will  be  her 
aim  to  make  up  for  any  roughness  or  seem- 
ing neglect  on  the  part  of  those  who  follow 
her  husband's  hounds. 

As  Jorrocks  told  James  Pigg,  "  There 
must  be  unanimity  and  concord,  or  we  sha'n't 
kill  no  foxes." 

A  lady  should  herself  set  an  example  of 
courtesy  when  meeting  at  a  country  house 
by  dismounting  and  paying  her  respects 
to  the  hostess,  especially  if  the  owner 
is  not  a  habitual  follower  of  the  chase. 
She  may  also  sometimes  make  an  oppor- 
tunity to  call  on  her  way  home  for  a  few 
minutes,    not    obviously   with    the    desire    of 


The  Wife  of  the  M.  F.  H.  7  7 

snatching  a  few  mouthfuls,  like  a  hungry 
do2f,  and  then  tearing  out  again,  but  in  a 
neighbourly,  pleasant  fashion,  for  no  one  likes 
to  be  unmistakably  made  a  convenience  of. 

These  little  amenities  go  a  long  way  to- 
wards what  is  called  "keeping  a  country 
together,"  and,  when  the  lady  at  the  head 
of  affairs  sets  her  face  against  rudeness  and 
"  cliqueishness '  there  is  likely  to  be  less 
friction  between  those  whom  a  Melton  sports- 
man once  designated  as  the  "  cursed  locals," 
and  the  sporting  gentry  who  are  only  birds 
of  passage. 

Politeness  in  the  field  is,  of  course,  part  of 
our  ideal  lady's  nature,  and  she  could  no 
more  omit  to  thank  the  sportsman,  farmer, 
or  labouring  man,  who  showed  her  an  act 
of  civility,  than  if  he  were  her  partner  at  a 
ball ;  though  a  story  is  told  of  a  gentleman 
in  a  crack  country,  who  said  to  a  fair  follower 
of  the  chase,  that  she  was  the  forty-second 
lady  he  had  held  a  gate  for,  and  the  first 
who  had  said  "Thank  you." 

But  let  us  turn  to  the  farmer,  who  with 
his  farmyard  gate  in  his   hand,    is  anxiously 


7 8  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

watching  some  young  stock  crowding  against 
his  valuable  ewes  in  an  adjoining  field,  while 
a  light-hearted  damsel  is  leading  a  select 
party  over  the  wheat,  so  as  to  outstrip  the 
riders  who  follow  the  headland,  on  their 
way  to  draw  a  favourite  covert.  Possibly 
that  farmer  in  "  a  happier  day  than  this," 
rode  his  own  nag  horse  with  the  best  of 
them,  and  talked  cheerily  to  his  landlord 
about  the  cubs  in  the  big  rabbit  hole,  and 
the  partridge  "  nesses  '  in  his  mowing  grass, 
but  now  neither  he  nor  "  the  Squire "  can 
afford  nag  horses  or  shooting  parties.  It  is 
toil  and  moil,  all  work  and  no  play,  for 
the  occupier ;  and  very  likely  the  landlord 
has  had  to  let  the  pleasant  acres  on  which 
he  and  his  forefathers  disported  themselves, 
and  feels  shy  of  the  tenants  for  whom  he 
is  unable  to  do  all  they  have  been  accustomed 
to. 

It  is  in  these  cases  that  "  the  lady '  will 
come  to  the  front,  with  all  the  tact  and 
kindliness  that  is  in  her.  Instead  of  rushing 
rudely  past  him,  she  will  pull  up  and  listen 
to  the  poor  man's  remarks,  and,  perhaps,  help 


The  Wife  of  the  M.  F.H.  79 

him  to  restrain  his  straying  beasts.  There 
are  so  many  occasions  in  a  day's  hunting, 
when  a  few  minutes  more  or  less  are  of 
little  importance,  that  it  is  a  pity  they 
should  not  be  utilised  in  promoting  good 
feeling  and.  mutual  understanding,  instead 
of  bein£  wasted  in  grumbling  at  the  hunts- 
man,  and.  abusing  the  sport  he  shows. 

The  mistress  of  the  hounds  can  do  some- 
thing, surely,  by  precept  and  example,  to 
discourage  the  outrageous  lavishness  coupled 
with  meanness,  which  is  the  curse  of  modern 
life,  and  is  nowhere  more  odious  and 
out  of  character  than  in  the  hunting 
field. 

People  who  spend  every  sixpence  they  can 
afford,  and  some  they  cannot,  on  their  habits 
and  boots  and  saddles,  cannot,  of  course, 
produce  one  of  those  useful  coins  at  an  oppor- 
tune moment,  but  if  they  could  stint  them- 
selves now  and  then  of  an  extra  waistcoat 
or  tie,  they  would  find  that  the  spare  cash 
would  go  a  long  way  towards  mending  a 
broken  rail ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  different 
feeling    with   which    the    advent   of    hounds 


So  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

would  be  regarded,  if  it  meant  money  in 
the  pocket,   instead  of  out  of  it. 

Munificence  in  the  few,  but  meanness  in 
the  many,  is,  unfortunately,  too  much  the 
rule  among  hunting  men  and  women.  They 
find  it  apparently  much  easier  to  write  tirades 
to  the  Field  on  the  subject  of  "wire'  for 
instance,  than  to  produce  a  few  shillings 
and  quietly  get  it  taken  down,  as  in  some 
instances  could  easily  be  done.  A  wooden 
rail  costs  sixpence,  a  day's  work  half-a-crown, 
and  it  does  seem  rather  pitiful,  that,  consider- 
ing the  three  millions  more  or  less  annually 
spent  on  hunting  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
it  should  be  found  impossible,  except  in  a 
few  well-managed  districts,  to  provide  funds 
for  fencing. 

Our  mistress  might  well  turn  her  attention 
to  this  matter,  and  she  may  induce  other 
ladies  to  look  round  their  own  neighbour- 
hoods, and  see  what  can  be  done  in  this 
way  in  a  friendly  spirit,  without  the  formali- 
ties of  committees  and  subscriptions. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  among  the  tenant 
farmers  or  freeholders  of  our  lady's  acquaint- 


The  Wife  of  the  M.  F.  H.  8 1 

ance  may  be  one,  who  from  age  or  "  bad 
times '  has  been  obliged  to  retire  to  a  smaller 
sphere,  but  whose  heart  is  still  true  to  fox- 
hunting, and  who  would  delight  in  being 
of  use,  if  he  only  knew  how.  Such  a  man, 
mounted  on  an  old  pony,  could  be  of  the 
greatest  service  in  a  hunting  country.  He 
would  follow  in  the  track  of  the  horsemen, 
shutting  the  gates  they  have  invariably  left 
open,  and  would  have  an  eye  on  the  perverse 
young  horses  and  wandering  sheep  which  do 
not  "love  the  fold,"  but  prefer  to  rush 
madly,  like  their  betters,  after  the  fascina- 
tions of  a  pack  of  hounds. 

There  may  be  instances  in  which  the 
mistress  of  the  hounds  herself  is  content 
to  "  take  a  back  seat "  and  to  humbly  watch 
her  husband's  prowess  without  emulating  it, 
and  in  such  a  case  she  can  do  a  good  deal 
in  the  way  of  shutting  gates,  calling  atten- 
tion to  stray  stock,  and  noting  damage  done 
to  fences  and  crops. 

It  is  quite  impossible  for  a  master  to  see 
half  the  delinquencies  committed  by  his  field, 
though  he  is.   of  course,  held  responsible  for 

F 


82  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

them,  but  if  the  rearguard  of  the  merry  chase, 
so  to  say,  was  brought  up  by  an  official, 
whose  business  it  was  to  detect  the  offenders 
who  get  off  and  "jump  on  top'  of  fences, 
it  would  be  a  cheaper  and  more  satisfactory 
arrangement  in  the  long  run. 

In  a  wet  season  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  it  hurts  all  crops  to  be  ridden  over,  grass 
as  well  as  arable,  and  therefore  roads  and 
headlands  should  be  strictly  adhered  to  when 
going  from  covert  to  covert.  Any  consider- 
able damage  should  be  apologised  for,  if 
possible  at  once,  and  if  people  were  not  so 
desperately  afraid  of  paying  for  their  amuse- 
ment (because  that  amusement  is  called  hunt- 
ing), an  acknowledgement  given  there  and 
then  to  the  sufferer  would  do  him  no  harm, 
and  the  cause  of  fox-hunting  a  great  deal 
of  good.  A  season  or  two  ago,  a  whole 
field  of  ardent  (?)  sportsmen  in  a  crack 
country  allowed  themselves  to  be  delayed 
for  a  long  time  bandying  words  at  an  oc- 
cupation bridge,  with  a  man  who  had  "  turned 
awkward,"  and  who  was  completely  in  his 
rights  within  stopping  the  way  if  he  chose. 


The  Wife  of  the  M.  F.H.  S3 

It  seems  curious  that  among  a  hundred 
horsemen,  worth  among  them,  probably,  as 
many  thousands  a  year,  no  one  seems  to 
have  been  struck  with  the  idea  of  producing 
a  sovereign  to  pay  for  the  cutting  up  of 
the  grass  that  must  follow  the  passage  of 
such  a  squadron. 

But  perhaps  we  have  dwelt  too  lono- 
on  the  seamy  side  of  the  duties  of  a 
mistress  of  hounds.  Let  us  turn  to  the 
more  agreeable  contemplation  of  her 
pleasures. 

Should  she  belong  to  a  hunting  family, 
she  will  have  heard  from  her  father,  ever 
since  she  can  remember,  stories  of  the  "  brave 
days  of  old,"  of  Meynell,  and  Musters,  and 
the  giants  of  those  days.  She  will  have 
learnt  to  sing  "  Osbaldeston's  voice,  reaching 
the  heavens,  boys,"  to  repeat  the  "  Billesdon 
Coplow"  and  "  Eanksborough  Gorse,"  and 
in  the  intervals  of  schoolroom  lessons  she 
will  have  been  taken  to  see  packs  now, 
perhaps,  become  historical. 

If  a  dweller  in  the  North  Country,  the 
name   of    Ralph    Lambton    will   be   familiar 


84  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

to  her ;  and  in  the  South,  legends  of  John 
Ward  and  Mr  Farquharson  of  Badminton, 
and  Berkeley,  have  been  the  delight  of 
her  youth. 

Should  she  be  fortunate  enough  to  live 
in  "  the  Shires '  she  may,  from  an  early  age, 
have  looked  up  at  the  towers  of  Belvoir, 
where  hunting  and  hospitality  are  a  bywrord 
and  a  delight,  and  she  may  just  remember 
the  glories  of  Quorn,  and  Sir  Richard,  of  Lord 
Henry,  and  the  Burton,  like  Mr  Bromley 
Davenport, 

"  Nourishing  a  verdant  youth, 
With  the  fairy  tales  of  gallops,  ancient  runs 
devoid  of  truth." 

The  kind  cheery  voices  of  Captain  Percy 
Williams  and  Mr  Anstruther  Thomson,  always 
indulgent  and  encouraging  to  young  people, 
may  have  fostered  her  natural  love  of  the 
chase,  and  she  may,  while  hunting  with  the 
former,  have  imbibed  some  idea  of  riding, 
from  the  sio;ht  of  the  celebrated  Dick 
Christian  handling  the  young  horses  at 
Rufford. 


The  Wife  of  the  M.  F.H.  85 

She  will  have  looked  with  a  reverential 
awe  at  blind  Mr  Foljambe  of  Osberton,  who 
was  able  to  judge  of  any  hound  by  the  sense 
of  touch,  long  after  that  of  sight  was  denied 
him,  and  who  still  hunted  led  by  a  groom. 

Perhaps  a  little  private  hunting  with 
beagles,  or  foxhound  puppies,  may  have 
given  our  future  mistress  an  interest  in 
individual  hounds,  their  treatment  and  char- 
acteristics, so  that  by  -  and  -  by,  when  she 
has  to  do  with  things  on  a  larger  scale, 
it  is  easier  for  her  to  know  one  hound 
from  another,  and  to  appreciate  their 
differences,  than  if  she  had  never  seen  less 
than  seventeen  or  eighteen  couple  to- 
gether. 

Very  likely  it  may  have  been  her  dream 
from  childhood  to  marry  a  Master  of  Hounds, 
so  when,  as  the  old  song  says, — 

"A  young  Country  Squire  requested  her  hand, 
Whose  joy  'twas  to  ride  by  her  side, 
So  domestic  a  prospect  what  girl  could  withstand, 
She  became,  truly  willing,  his  bride." 


Then  would  follow7  the  interest  of  making 


S6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

acquaintance  with  the  country,  with  all 
classes  of  people  in  it,  with  the  coverts, 
lanes,  and  bridle-paths,  the  lovely  little  bits 
that  most  people  never  see  at  all,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  pleasant  companionship  of 
hounds,  horses,  and  hunt-servants. 

Captain  Percy  Williams's  advice  to  a  young 
M.  F.  H.  was,  "  Stay  at  home  with  your  wife 
and  your  hounds,"  but  how  can  a  man  do  so, 
if  his  wife  is  all  agog  to  drag  him  to  London 
or  abroad  directly  the  hunting  season  is  over  ? 
Hounds  should  be  a  summer  as  well  as  a 
winter  pastime,  but  whether  they  are  so  or 
not  depends  almost  entirely  on  the  wife  of 
their  possessor. 

When  all  is  said  and  done,  two  people, 
who  are  young,  happy,  and  like-minded,  can 
scarcely  find  an  enjoyment  greater  than  that 
of  going  out  hunting  together  with  their 
own  hounds.  To  be  starting  on  a  nice 
horse,  on  a  fine  morning,  for  one  long- 
day  of  happiness,  is  a  delight  that  can 
only  be  enhanced  by  sharing  it  with  a 
kindred  soul,  and  best  of  all  if  that  soul  is 
a  husband's. 


The  Wife  of  the  M.  F.  H.  S7 

Then  the  greetings  from  all  classes  at  the 
meet,  the  feeling  of  giving  pleasure  to  so 
many,  the  pride  in  the  hounds,  and  the  skill 
of  the  huntsman,  tempered  though  it  be 
with  anxiety  for  the  success  of  the  day's 
sport,  all  go  to  warm  the  heart  and  fire  the 
imagination  as  nothing  else  does. 

And  as  the  hours  pass  imperceptibly,  and 
the  brown  woods  open  their  vistas,  and 
yellowing  pastures  alternate  with  dark  hedge- 
rows, and  the  chiming  of  hounds  with  the 
distant  holloas,  there  is  the  anticipation  of 
an 

"  Oak  Room  with  a  blazing  fire 
To  end  a  long  day's  ride, 
And  what  to  them  is  chance  and  change 
While  they  sit  side  by  side." 

Years  afterwards,  when  many  other  things 
have  turned  to  bitterness  or  disappointment, 
comrades  of  the  hunting  field  will  be  a  solace 
and  a  pleasure  to  each  other,  and  the  mistress 
of  the  hounds,  when  no  longer  following  their 
cry,  will  be  with  them  in  spirit,  will  be  in- 
terested to  the  points  of  each  run,  the  perform- 


88  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

ancc  of  each   pack,   and  her  heart   will  ever 
beat  true  to 

"The  friends  for  whom,  alive  or  dead,  her  love  is 
unimpaired ; 
The  mirth,  and  the  adventure,  and  the  sport  that 
they  have  shared." 

Lina  Chaworth  Musters. 


F  O  X-H  U  N  T I  N  G. 


FOX-HUNTING 

"  The  sport  of  kings,  the  image  of  war  without  its 
guilt,  and  only  five-and-twenty  per  cent  of  its 
danger." 

There  are  many  ladies  very  well  qualified 
to  write  a  valuable  paper  on  the  art  of 
riding  over  a  country,  but,  possibly,  the 
following  short  sketch  —  from  the  hunting 
more  than  the  riding  point  of  view — may  be 
of  interest,  as  I  am  sorely  afraid  ladies  are 
sometimes  apt  to  forget  the  presence  of  the 
hounds,  and  little  consider  the  trouble  and 
anxiety  it  takes  to  bring  into  the  field  a 
really  efficient  pack. 

Some  masters  may  have  the  good  fortune 
to  start  with  a  ready-made  and  perfect  pack 
of  hounds — a  most  perishable  possession — 
as  a  very  short  time  of  unintelligent  man- 
agement will  reduce  the  finest  pack  in  the 
kingdom    to   a   comparatively   worthless   one 

91 


92  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

— but  the  majority  have  to  begin  from  the 
bottom  for  themselves. 

Fortunately,  draft  hounds  are  plentiful, 
and  a  hundred  couple  or  more  can  easily 
be  bought  —  out  of  which  (taking  care  to 
get  quit  of  any  good-looking  ones)  forty 
couple  sufficient  for  a  start  may  be  got. 
Now  as  to  horses. 

Many  people  suppose  that  any  sort  of 
screw  is  good  enough  for  a  servant's  horse. 
No  more  fatal  or  uneconomical  error  exists. 

A  huntsman's  horse  should  be  as  near  per- 
fection as  can  be  got ;  and  this  cannot  be 
had  for  little  money. 

A  huntsman  has  sufficient  to  do  to  attend 
to  his  business,  without  being  a  rough  rider 
at  the  same  time,  and  ought  to  feel  himself 
to  be  the  best  mounted  man  in  the  field, 
or  thereabouts. 

If  he  is  put  on  inferior  animals,  he  has 
a  very  strong  temptation  to  feed  his  hounds 
back  to  his  horse.  A  really  strong  pack  of 
hounds  on  a  good  scent  will  run  away  from 
any  horse  living. 

And    that  wouderful    huntsman   one  hears 


Fox-hunting.  9 


i 


of  "  who  is  always  with  his  hounds,"  nine 
times  out  of  ten  always  has  his  hounds  with 
him. 

All  servants'  horses  should  be  well-bred, 
strong,  and  short-legged,  for  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  they  have  much  harder 
work  than  gentlemen's  horses,  therefore  care 
should  be  taken  that  they  are  qualified  to 
carry  a  good  deal  more  weight  than  wrould 
appear  necessary  to  the  uninitiated. 

Hounds  and  horses  having  been  bought, 
we  must  now  proceed  to  man  the  ship. 

To  begin  with — The  Master. 

Let  us  suppose  an  M.  F.  H.,  who  has  been 
properly  taught  the  trade  (for  it  is  impossible 
for  anybody,  be  he  never  so  rich,  to  satisfac- 
torily perform  the  duties  of  this  important 
position,  unless  he  has  been  thoroughly 
grounded  in  the  rudiments). 

Such  an  one  is  always  courteous  and  kindly 
to  those  with  whom  he  is  brought  in  contact, 
be  they  connected  with  the  agricultural  in- 
terest, or  members  of  his  field.  There  is  a 
vast  deal  of  human  nature  in  people,  and 
a  little  civility  goes  a  long  way. 


94  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

An  ill-mannered  master  is  a  curse  to  any 
country,  and  a  mere  "  Field-Damner "  is 
a  creature  unfit  to  live. 

Few  know  the  troubles  of  keeping  a 
country,  and  the  cordial  co-operation  of  the 
master  in  this  work  is  of  vital  importance. 

Our  supposititious  M.  F.  H.,  however,  thor- 
oughly appreciates  this  obligation,  and,  bear- 
ing this  in  mind,  he  will  select  for  his  huntsman 
a  respectable,  well-mannered  servant.  Nothing 
farmers  and  keepers  detest  so  much  as  an  ill- 
conditioned,  uncivil  man. 

The  first  necessity  in  a  huntsman  is,  that 
he  should  be  a  man  whom  hounds  are  fond 
of,  and  who  is  fond  of  them.  He  should 
be  in  constant  companionship  with  his  hounds, 
taking  the  greatest  care  in  keeping  them 
off  their  benches  as  much  as  possible.  The 
neglect  of  this  somewhat  troublesome  duty 
in  many  kennels  results  in  lameness. 

He  must  be  an  early  man  in  the  morning, 
as  hounds  ought  to  be  finished  feeding  by 
eight  o'clock  the  day  before  hunting. 

He  should  carefully  watch  the  constitution 
of  each  hound,  and  feed  it  accordingly. 


Fox-hunting.  9  5 

It  is  impossible  for  hounds  to  drive  and 
run  hard  unless  they  are  fed  strong,  and 
are  full  of  muscle. 

A  thin  hound  is  a  weak  hound  and  tires 
at  night. 

Hounds  ought  always  to  be  cast  in  front 
of  their  huntsman,  but  this  cannot  be  done 
unless  they  are  really  strong  and  vigorous. 

If  to  these  important  qualifications  can  be 
added  a  fine  horseman,  so  much  the  better  ; 
but  riding  is  really  a  secondary  considera- 
tion in  a  huntsman,  provided  he  is  work- 
man enough  to  keep  pretty  handy  with  his 
hounds. 

There  is  no  occasion  to  give  young  gentle- 
men a  lead  over  the  country,  let  them  find 
the  way  for  themselves. 

A  good  cheery  voice  is  also  a  valuable 
property  in  a  huntsman. 

For  his  whipper-in,  he  will  have  a  young 
man  who  has  learnt  his  duty,  as  described 
in  a  little  book  called  Hints  to  Huntsmen* 
by  heart.     If  he  knows  that,   and  'practises 

*  Hints   to  Huntsmen,  by  Colonel  Anstruther   Thomson, 
published  by  Fifeshire  Journal  Office,  Cupar-Fife. 


g6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

it,    he   will    have   all    the    necessary    know- 
ledge. 

A  more  abominable  sight  does  not  exist 
than  the  hard-riding  whipper-in,  he  is,  for 
the  most  part,  a  useless,  conceited  lad,  who 
will  never  do  any  good  in  this  world  or  the 
next. 

The  second  whip  should  be  a  nice,  quiet 
boy,  and  a  good  horseman. 

Having  got  our  establishment  into  work- 
iii  a  order,  we  wTill  now  take  it  out  for  a 
hunt,  which  I  will  try  to  describe  from  the 
point  of  view  indicated  in  my  opening  para- 
graph. 

For  a  right  good  place  to  find  a  fox,  give 
me  a  smallish  wood.  As  a  rule,  hounds 
come  away  from  a  wood  settled  to  their 
fox,  which  is  not  the  case  from  a  gorse, 
the  first  whip  having  been  sent  on  to  view 
the  fox  away. 

The  field  being  placed  by  the  master 
(who  remains  wTith  them)*  in  a  favourable 
position,    our   huntsman    throws   his    hounds 

*  You  will  recollect  that  our  master  has  been  taught,  and 
knows  that  whip's  work  is  not  his  duty. 


Fox-hunting.  97 

into  covert,  encouraging  them  to  spread 
and  draw,  being  careful  that  they  are  in 
front  of  his  horse.  When  a  well-known 
voice  proclaims  the  hitting  of  the  drag,  he 
cheers  the  pack  to  that  hound,  calling  it 
by  name,  as  "  Hark  to  Melody !  Hark  to 
her !  Hark  ! '  But  they  fly  to  one  another 
of  themselves,  and  shortly  there  is  a  grand 
cry. 

One  ring  round  the  wood,  and  the 
whipper-in's  "  Tally-ho,  gone  awa-a-a-y "  is 
heard,  he  having  taken  good  care  to  let 
the  fox  well  away  before  holloa-ing.  The 
huntsman  now  makes  his  way  as  fast  as 
possible  to  the  holloa,  at  the  same  time 
blowing  his  horn  for  the  information  of  the 
field— 


-! 1 


-*— m- 


— as  the  hounds  leave  the  covert,  well  settled 
to  the  scent. 

And  now,  I  think,  you  can  appreciate  my 
preference  of  a  wood  to  a  gorse. 

Then,  what  a  scene  of  excitement.  Men 
and  women    in  such  a  fuss  and  hurry.     In 

G 


98  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the  whole  lot  only  about  three  really  calm 
and  collected— the  master  (seeing  a  useful 
scent,  and  hounds  with  a  fair  start,  is,  for 
once  in  a  way,  delighted  to  say,  "  Catch 
them  if  you  can  ! "),  and  an  oldish  man  or 
two  still  able  to  take  their  part,  if  hounds 
really  run. 

Let  me,  like  black  care,  sit  behind  one  of 
these  latter,  and  view  the  chase  through  his 
spectacles.  He  knows  every  gate  and  gap  in 
the  country  for  miles  round,  but  this  morning 
he  sees  he  must  desert  his  favourite  paths 
if  he  wants  to  see  the  hounds  run.  All  the 
dash  of  twenty  years  ago  returns  to  him, 
as  he  slips  his  steady  old  hunter  over  a 
somewhat  awkward  corner,  and  (before  most 
of  the  young  ones  take  in  the  situation) 
is  making  the  best  of  his  way  to  the  down- 
wind side  of  the  now  flying  pack.* 

Well,  here  we  are.  And,  first,  let  us  take 
a  look  at  the  hounds.  For  a  scratch  lot, 
they    are    well    together,    and     the    careful 

*  If  you  have  a  chance,  always  get  the  down-wind  side  of 
hounds  running,  because,  even  if  you  lose  sight  of  them,  you 
can  still  hear  the  cry,  while,  if  you  are  up-wind,  it  is  extra- 
ordinary what  difficulty  you  have  in  hearing  them. 


Fox-hunting.  99 

kennel    management   of    the   summer    shows 
itself. 

Now  for  the  horsemen,  see  the  hard  gentle- 
man of  tender  years  galloping  from  sheer 
funk  at  fences,  that  one  of  the  old  school  jumps 
out  of  the  most  collected  canter.  And  then, 
oh,  ye  gods,  the  girls!  brave  beyond  words, 
jamming  their  unfortunate  horses  into  every 
sort  of  difficulty,  with  elbows  squared,  and 
the  sole  of  their  foot  exposed  to  the  aston- 
ished gaze  of  those  behind  them. 

Alas !    alas !    the    art    of    equitation    will 
soon  be  a  lost  one. 

Fifteen    minutes    racing    pace    takes    the 
nonsense  out  of  all.     The  fox  turns  sharply 
down  -  wind,    and    the    huntsman  —  who  has 
been    riding   carefully   and    quietly  —  knows 
they  have    overrun    it.     Not  one   word   does 
he   say,  letting  his  hounds  swing  their  own 
cast.     As  they  do    not  recover   the   line,   he 
is  compelled  to  give  them  a  bit  of  assistance. 
With    such    a   scent,    he    can    go   a    little 
fast;    so,    at    a    sharp    trot,    he    makes     his 
cast  back,   his  whip  putting  the  hounds  on 
to  him.       No   noise   nor   rating,    such   as   is 


i  oo  L  a  dies  in  the  Field. 

only  too  frequently  heard.  An  ugly  black- 
and  -  white  brute  hits  the  seent  down  a 
hedgerow.  He  cheers  the  pack  to  him,  well 
knowing  it  was  not  the  lack  of  beauty  that 
caused  the  old  dog  to  be  where  he  is. 

Now,  stand  back  and  see  them  hunt,  with 
nothing  to  mar  your  pleasure  in  watching 
the  wonderful  instinct  of  a  high-bred  fox- 
hound, except  the  chatter  of  the  male  and 
female  thrusters,  describing  to  each  other 
the  wonderful  leaps  they  have  severally  sur- 
mounted.# 

The  fox  now  runs  the  road  for  a  quarter 
of  a  mile.  Whatever  you  do,  keep  off  them, 
and  give  hounds  room  to  turn.t 

The  chase  continues  down -wind.  Howr 
they  swing  and  try.  Look  how  they  drive 
as  they  hit  the  scent,  then  spread  them- 
selves like  a  fan,   only  to  fly  together  again 


*If  you  go  out  hunting,  hunt.  There  is  nothing  more 
irritating  to  the  real  sportsman  than  the  incessant  chatter 
and  laughter  of  people  who  take  no  intelligent  interest  in 
the  business  of  hunting. 

t  When  hounds  run  down  a  road,  get  your  horse  on  the 
grass  siding.  Nothing  is  so  apt  to  force  hounds  beyond  the 
scent  as  the  rattle  of  horses'  feet  behind  them. 


Fox-hunting.  \o\ 

as      a      trusted      comrade     speaks      to      the 
line. 

"All  this  comes  of  condition,"  as  my  old 
gentleman  says. 

Hark  !  a  holloa  forward. 

Do  you  think  a  sensible  man  will  lift  them  ? 

No ;  so  long  as  they  can  carry  on,  he 
knows  they  will  go  quicker  than  he  can 
take  them. 

More  patient  hunting,  through  sheep  and 
over  bad  ground,  the  huntsman  cheering  his 
hounds,  but  never  interfering  with  them,  as 
they  work  out  all  the  turns  of  a  sinking 
fox  for  themselves. 

They'll  have  him  directly,  one  can  see  by 
the  determined  rush  of  the  older  hounds. 
Sure  enough  !  In  another  minute  they  run 
from  scent  to  view,  and  pull  their  fox  down 
in  the  open. 

Five-an  1-forty  minutes,  and  I  ask  you  if 
this  is  not  a  sporting  hunt. 

My  old  friend  dismounts,  leading  his  horse 
away,  at  the  same  time  remarking, — 

'  It  is  a  nasty  sight  to  see  ladies  watching 
a  poor  fox  pullod  to  pieces." 


102 


Ladies  in  the  Field. 


Although  a  note  od  the  subject  of  blow- 
ing a  hunting-horn  may  not  be  of  great  in- 
terest to  many  people,  still,  I  venture  to 
think,  no  harm  can  be  done  in  placing  be- 
fore your  readers  how  a  huntsman  ought  to 
communicate  on  that  instrument  with  his 
hounds  and  field. 

When  he  views  a  fox — 


^ — s* — ^ — 9    i*    p    ^    ^- 


In-drawing  (especially  in  a  big  wood) — 


i 


T        1       J^_ 


if  hounds  are  wide  of  him,  they  stop  to 
listen  to  the  first  note,  and  go  to  the  second. 
To  stop  hounds  off  heel  or  riot — 


i 


:e: 


To  call  hounds  in  the  open  to  cast- 


$ 

"  Gone  away  " — 


i*    -i    i#- 


1?     U     U1    4*~t*     fr- 


Fox-hunting. 


103 


To  draw  hounds  out  of  covert — 


i 


2zz^^: 


a — s 


When  a  fox  is  killed — 


"V — ^ — s* — b* — b* — ^ — b* — >- 


also, 


i 


zy.. 


9 


8 


Some  people  only  use  the  long  rattle  at  the 
death,  but  my  opinion  is  that  the  eight 
very  sharp  notes  should  be  blown,  as  hounds 
know  that  they  mean  a  fox,  and  a  fox  only, 
whether  alive  or  dead. 


TEAM  AND  TANDEM  DRIVING. 


TEAM  AND  TANDEM  DRIVING. 

By  Miss  Rosie  Anstruther  Thomson. 

Being  almost  a  beginner  myself,  it  is  with 
diffidence  that  I  commence  to  relate  my  small 
experiences  in  four  -  in  -  hand  driving.  It  is 
only  because  I  have  had  the  advantage  of 
watching  a  first-rate  coachman  in  my  father 
that  I  venture  to  do  so — having  taken  care 
to  gather  from  him  many  hints  and  wrinkles 
as  to  what  to  do,  and  not  to  do,  and  more 
especially  the  reason  why. 

It  is,  I  know,  supposed  to  be  easier  to  drive 
a  team  than  a  tandem,  because  two  horses 
abreast  are  believed  to  be  less  foolish  than 
two  single  horses.  Personally,  I  think  all 
horses  are  astonishingly  foolish  at  times,  and, 
for  a  lady,  a  tandem  is  much  less  heavy. 

Of  course  it  depends  in  a  measure  on 
people's  hands  whether  horses  feel  heavy 
and  hang,  but  the  weight  of  four  horses  on 
a  woman's  wrist  is  decidedly  a  strain,  until, 


10 


10S  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

through  practice,  she  becomes  accustomed  to 
the  feeling  —  that  is,  unless  the  team  is  so 
perfectly  trained  that  they  almost  drive 
themselves. 

In  driving  a  team,  the  first  thing  to  be 
learnt  is  the  art  of  "  catching  "  a  four-in-hand 
whip.  It  certainly  holes  easy  enough,  and 
many  a  rime  have  I  watched  my  father,  with 
one  upward  turn  of  his  wrist,  catch  it  unerr- 
ino-ly  every  time,  and  felt — "Of  course  any 
duffer  could  do  that!" — eagerly  proclaiming 
my  ability  to  do  it  too.  This,  however,  is  an 
altogether  different  affair.  Xo  twisting  no 
jerking  is  allowed,  but  simply  a  turn  of  the 
wrist,  making  something  like  a  figure  eight 
in  the  air,  and  leaving  the  thong  caught  on 
the  stick  (never  try  to  catch  your  thong  with 
the  stick)  with  a  loop  above  and  a  few  turns 
round  the  stick  below,  which  brings  both  lash 
and  stick  into  your  hand  together.  It  is  an 
impossible  thing  to  describe,  and  the  only  way 
to  learn  it  is  to  get  some  patient  friend  to 
show  you  how.  And  you  will  require  all  your 
Job-ish  propensities,  for  it  is  by  no  means  easy 
at  rirst,  and   it    makes    you  feel  very  foolish 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  109 

when  all  your  efforts  fail,  after  it  has  looked 
so  ridiculously  simple  in  the  hands  of  an  ex- 
pert. Nothing  looks  worse  than  people  essay- 
ing to  drive  a  team  without  knowing  how  to 
catch  their  whip,  and  their  wild  attempts  to 
attain  that  end  are  almost  pathetic,  for  the 
flourishes  they  make,  end  invariably  only  in  a 
hopeless  complication  and  tangle. 

Having  mastered  your  whip,  the  next  thing 
to  do  is  to  defeat  your  reins — and  beware  that 
they  do  not  defeat  you,  for  they  are  very 
mixing,  and  the  numbers  one  has  to  deal  with 
make  one  almost  giddy,  after  the  ordinary 
single  pair.  In  driving  a  team,  or  a  tandem, 
you  should  not  hold  your  reins  one  through 
each  finger,  as  in  riding,  but  put  one  rein — 
your  near  leader's — over  the  top  of  the  fore- 
finger of  your  left  hand,  and  the  other  leader's 
rein — the  off — and  the  near  wheeler's  reins 
both  between  your  first  and  middle  fingers 
(the  leader's  upmost),  while  your  off  wheeler's 
rein  comes  lowest  of  all,  between  your  middle 
and  third  finger.  It  looks  rather  complicated 
on  paper,  but  is  really  very  quickly  learnt, 
especially  if   the  wheeler's   reins   are   a  little 


r  10  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

different    in   colour,  having    probably  become 
darker  through  more  constant  wear. 

Mind  you  take  your  reins  before  you  get 
on  to  your  box,  and  never  commit  the  folly 
of  getting  into  a  carriage  before  your  coach- 
man, or  coach  woman,  has  hold  of  the  reins, 
for  it  is  both  dangerous  and  foolish. 

Before  vou  take  the  reins,  it  is  well  to  look 
round  all  the  harness  and  satisfy  yourself  that 
the  curb   chains   and    throat  lashes  are  loose 
enough  (grooms  are  so  fond  of  pulling  every- 
thing up  as  tight  as  it  will  go,  and  often  seem 
to  treat  throat  lashes  and  curb  chains  on  the 
same  principle  as  girths).     See  that  the  bits 
are  not  too  short  in  the  horses'  mouths,  that 
your  leaders  are  properly  coupled,  and  also  your 
wheelers.     You  cannot  be  too  particular  about 
detail  in  this  case,  and  mind  the  pole  chains 
are  not  too  tight.     They  should  be  easy,  so 
that  they  can  just  swing — the  pole  carrying 
itself  without  resting  any  weight  on  the  horses 
collars. 

After  you  have  seen  that  all  is  right,  go 
round  to  the  off-side  wheeler  and  take  your 
leader's  reins  from  off  his  pad,  put  them  in 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  1 1 1 

your  left  hand,  with  forefinger  between,  then 
pick  up  your  wheeler's  in  your  right  hand, 
with  forefinger  between.  Now  pass  them  on 
to  their  ultimate  destination  (one  on  each 
side  of  the  third  finger  of  your  left  hand), 
and  draw  the  near  reins  through  your  fingers 
till  you  get  them  so  short  (while  you  are  still 
on  the  ground)  that  they  will  all  come  even 
when  you  are  sitting  on  your  box.  Nothing 
denotes  a  muff  more  than  omitting  to  do 
this.  Of  course  the  driver  must  judge  how 
much  rein  to  take  in,  with  bis  or  her  eye, 
before  getting  up. 

As  you  cannot  swarm  on  to  your  box 
hampered  by  the  reins  in  your  left  hand,  you 
must  take  them  in  your  right  until  you  have 
settled  yourself  comfortably,  and  are  sitting 
(not  standing)  firmly  on  your  seat,  which 
should  not  slant  up  too  much,  for  one  gets 
more  purchase  if  one  is  not  merely  leaning 
against  the  box.  Once  there,  change  your 
reins  back  into  your  left  hand,  take  the  whip 
out  of  the  socket,  catch  it,  drop  your  hand, 
and  set  sail. 

The    correct    thing,   I    believe,  is    to    have 


1 1 2  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the  whip  ready  caught  and  laid  across  the 
wheeler's  quarters.  That  is  what  they  did 
iu  old  coaching  days,  and  the  driver  used 
to  take  it  up  with  his  reins  together  in 
his  right  hand,  with  the  whip  pointing  towards 
his  right  shoulder.  He  then  got  up,  with 
reins  and  whip  all  ready  to  start  as  soon 
as  he  said  the  word  i:  Go ! " 

It  would  be  a  good  thing  if  grooms  at 
the  horses'  heads  would  let  go  the  in- 
stant you  give  them  the  hint  to  do  so. 
Nothing  is  more  irritating  to  both  horse 
and  driver  than  a  man  who  wTill  hold  on 
after  you  have  started. 

In  starting,  you  should  have  your  leaders 
a  little  shorter  by  the  head  than  the  wheelers, 
as  the  wheelers  should  start  the  coach.  Let- 
ting the  leaders  start  first  is  very  likely  to 
end  in  disaster.  Like  buckets  in  a  well, 
they  jump  off  with  a  jerk  before  the  wheelers 
are  ready.  Just  as  they  subside,  off  go  the 
wheelers.  The  result  is  confusion,  and  pos- 
sibly a  broken  trace. #     Take   up   your  reins 

*  One  should  always  go  out  provided  with  an  extra  trace,  in  ease 
of  accidents. 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  113 

then,  to  avoid  this  calamity,  feeling  all  your 
horses'  mouths,  but  with  the  leaders'  accentu- 
ated ;  and,  when  you  are  quite  ready  to 
start,  just  drop  your  hand  and  chuckle  to 
them.  Never  "  kiss '  at  your  horses,  and 
never  say  "Pull  up,"  —  both  are  shocking 
and  unpardonable. 

As  to  the  use  of  a  four-in-hand,  whip, 
there  is  almost  as  much  art  in  hitting  the 
leaders  as  there  is  in  throwing  a  fishing- 
fly.  You  should  always  hit  your  leaders  under 
the  bars,  and  quietly,  to  avoid  startling  the 
other  horses.  In  driving  anything,  whether 
one  horse  or  four,  you  should  always  begin 
by  touching  your  horse  quite  gently  at  first, 
just  drawing  the  whip  across  his  shoulder. 
If  this  hint  is  not  enough,  repeat  it  a  little 
harder  and  a  little  harder  still,  so  that  he 
improves  his  pace  gradually,  this  obviates 
the  uncomfortable  jolts  and  jerks  caused  by 
bad  coachmen  when  using  their  whips ;  they 
make  the  mistake  of  hitting  hard  the  first 
time,  the  horse  jumps  forward  and  the 
passengers  nearly  dislocate  their  necks  in 
consequence.     Also,  you   should    always    hold 

H 


ii4  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

them  a  little  tighter  when  you  are  going  to 
use  the  whip  to  prevent  their  starting  for- 
ward, for  many  horses  will  jump  at  the 
first  touch,  no  matter  how  lightly  it  is  laid 
across  them. 

In  turning  a  corner  with  a  team  or  tandem, 
take  up  your  leaders'  reins  a  little  and  give 
them  the  hint  which  turn  to  take  before  you 
get  to  the  corner  (this  is  technically  called 
';  pointing  your  leaders").  They  are  generally 
quick  enough  at  taking  your  hint,  and  then 
mind  you  allow  enough  space  for  the  hind 
wheels  of  your  coach. 

Always  go  quite  slow  off  the  top  of  a  hill. 
Take  up  your  leaders  before  you  get  to  it. 
You  can  get  safely  down  any  hill,  no  matter 
how  steep,  provided  you  start  slow  enough 
off  the  top.  The  pace  is  bound  to  increase 
the  further  down  you  get,  so  it  is  wise  not 
to  start  too  fast,  otherwise  you  end  in  an 
uncomfortable  sort  of  gallop,  with  the  coach 
overhauling  the  horses  all  the  way.  Some- 
times it  is  a  good  plan  to  increase  your  pace, 
supposing  there  is  a  hill  to  be  got  up  just  in 
front  of   you  ;   in  that  case,  get  your   horses 


Team  and  Tandem  Drivings  1 15 

into  a  gallop  going  down  so  as  to  get  a  run 
at  the  next  hill,  and  the  impetus  will  carry 
you  up  much  easier  if  you  have  a  real  good 
swing  at  it.  Of  course  a  Ions;  hill  is  a  dif- 
ferent  thing,  especially  if  it  is  off  the  flat, 
and  in  every  case  your  horses  must  be  con- 
sidered. 

It  is  important  that  horses  should  be 
brought  in  cool,  therefore  one  should  do  the 
last  mile  of  the  journey  slowly  and  quietly 
that  they  may  not  be  too  hot  on  arriving 
at  their  stable. 

It  is  a  bad  thing  to  keep  horses  waiting 
at  the  start,  they  are  not  generally  gifted 
with  much  more  patience  than  we  are,  and 
it  is  worse  to  check  them  once  they  are  on 
the  move,  therefore  it  is  best,  when  all  the 
passengers  are  on  board,  that  the  last  to  get 
up  should  sing  out  "  Right,"  to  let  the  coach- 
man know  they  are  really  ready  to  be  off, 
and  so  prevent  the  risk  of  beiug  implored 
to  "  wait  just  one  moment '  for  the  for- 
gotten coat  or  umbrella,  or  the  thousand  and 
one  things  people  always  do  forget  until  the 
very   last   instant,    notwithstanding    what    is 


1 1 6  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

usually  the  fact  that  they  have  been  dawdling 
about  hours  before  hand,  with  nothing  else  to 
do  but  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  cold  and 
rain  which,  in  this  climate,  is  about  the  only 
thing  one  can  count  on. 

Once  off,  try  to  leave  your  reins  alone  as 
much  as  possible  ;  it  is  irritating  to  your  horses' 
mouths,  and  looks  bad,  to  be  always  fidgeting 
and  pulling  at  either  one  rein  or  the  other. 
Don't  let  your  leaders  do  all  or  nearly  all 
the  work,  and  going  down  hill  don't  let 
them  do  any,  but  catch  hold  of  them  pretty 
short  just  before  you  get  to  the  brow  of 
the  hill  and  pull  them  back — a  tiny  bit  on 
one  side  to  prevent  the  wheelers  treading 
on  their  heels. 

In  taking  up  and  shortening  your  reins, 
many  people  say  you  should  always  push 
them  from  in  front  with  the  right  hand, 
and  not  draw  them  through  the  fingers 
from  behind,  though  the  latter  way  often 
seems  the  most  natural,  and  all  coachmen 
do  not  agree  on  this  point.  It  looks  better 
to  drive  with  one  hand,  the  left,  and  to  keep 
the  right  for  the  whip  and  an  occasional  assist- 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  1 1 7 

ance  only ;  but  a  woman  must  have  wrists 
of  iron  to  drive  a  team  with  one  hand  for 
long,  especially  as  the  wrist  should  always 
be  bent  in  driving  as  well  as  in  riding. 
Driving  with  straight  wrists  is  altogether 
wrong.  One  thing  never  to  be  forgotten 
is  always  to  make  your  wheelers  follow  your 
leaders,  thereby  you  can  generally  assume 
an  air  of  nonchalance,  and  pretend  that  you 
intended  the  sudden  deviation  off  the  middle 
of  the  road  caused  by  the  digression  of  the 
leaders,  if  your  wheelers  immediately  follow 
in  their  footsteps.  Should  it  be  only  a  slight 
digression,  a  pull  at  the  two  reins  between 
your  first  and  second  fingers  both  at  once, 
will  put  them  right  immediately,  as  that  gets 
at  your  off  leader  and  near  wheeler  at  the 
same  time,  and  is  a  very  quick  way  of  getting 
the  team  straight  again.  It  is  better  form 
not  to  use  the  break  unless  it  is  absolutely 
necessary.  People  bore  one  so  who  are  always 
putting  their  drags  on  and  off.  I  do  not 
mean  the  "  shoe/'  as  that,  of  course,  must 
be  put  on,  on  occasions  when  the  hill  is  steep 
to  prevent  the  coach  running  on  to  the  horses. 


1 1 8  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

I  remember  once   driving   with  my   father 
in  the  Fife  country,  where  the  roads  resemble 
switchback  railways  more  than  Christian  high- 
ways.    We  had  arrived  at  the  top  of  a  very 
steep  pitch,  and  the  grooms  having  slipped 
on    the    shoe,    we    were    trundling   serenely 
down,  when,  just  as  we  reached  the  middle 
of  the  hill  where  the  whole  impetus  of  the 
coach  was  at  its  worst,  snap  went  the  chain 
and  away  rolled  the  shoe  off  down  the  hill 
on   its   own   account,    of   course    the   sudden 
release  sent  the  coach  with  a  great  lurch  on 
the  top  of  the  wheelers,  while  we  all  clung 
on,  craning  our  necks  to  see  what  was  going 
to  happen  next.      Quick  as  thought  out  flew 
the  whip  thong,  and  in  an  instant  my  father 
had    touched   the   horses   all   round   and   we 
were  flying  down  the  hill  at  racing  pace.     We 
got  to  the  bottom  all  safe  and  had  galloped 
to  the   top  of  the  next  hill  before  he  took 
a  pull.     It  was  very  exciting  for  the  time, 
and  the  only  thing  to  be  done  under  the  cir- 
cumstances to  keep  the  horses  going  quicker 
than  the  coach,  but  not  an  experiment  one 
wrould  care  to  try  with  an  inferior  coachman. 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  1 1 9 

We  have  all  been   mercifully  blessed  with 
nerve,    and    many   a    time    has    our   courage 
been  severely  put  to  the  test.     We  had  a  very 
near  shave  one  day  some  years  ago  coming 
back  from   Ascot.     We  were  driving  all  the 
way   home   to    London   after   the   last   day's 
racing.     Our  off  leader  was  a  very  violent, 
hot    horse,  called    "The   Robber,"    who   kept 
raking    and    snatching    at    his    bridle    from 
morning    till    night.      As    we    were    passing 
through  a  little    town — Brentford — we    tried 
to  worm  our  way  between  the  pavement  and 
a  baker's  cart,  which  was   proceeding  slowly 
in  front   and    giving    us  very  little  room  to 
pass. 

This  irritated  The  Robber,  who,  making  a 
wild  bounce  forward,  wrenched  the  bridle 
clean  off  the  wheeler's  head  !  (His  rein  was 
passed  through  the  upright  terret  on  the 
top  of  the  wheeler's  bridle,  and  must  have 
got  caught  somehow).  The  bridle  flopped 
against  the  pole,  which  frightened  the  whole 
lot  and  they  started  off  at  a  gallop.  The 
baker,  seeing  this,  thought  we  were  anxious 
to  race  him,  and  set  sail  too.     Naturally  his 


1 20  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

increasing  pace  excited  our  horses  more  than 
ever,  and  the  three  with  bridles  pulled  their 
hardest,  while  the  loose  one  pegged  along 
with  his  head  in  the  air. 

The  off-horse  being  bitless,  it  was  only  the 
near-side  rein  that  took  effect  on  their  mouths, 
so  the  end  was  that  we  edged  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  pavement,  till,  at  last,  the 
leaders  turned  and  jumped  on  to  it.  At  the 
same  moment  Captain  Carnegy  (who,  luckily, 
was  just  sitting  behind  the  box)  leapt  to  the 
ground,  and  made  a  grab  at  the  loose  wheeler, 
catching  him  by  the  nose,  and  so  saved  us 
from  some  trouble.  The  leaders,  in  the 
meantime,  had  run  straight  into  a  draper's 
shop,  and  were  curveting  about  on  the  top 
of  four  or  five  school  children,  whom  they 
had  hustled  to  the  ground. 

It  looked  very  nasty  for  a  minute,  but 
they  were  mercifully  extracted  all  unhurt, 
and  a  few  coins  soon  mollified  their  gaping 
parents. 

Apropos  of  having  the  leaders'  reins  through 
the  top  terret,  it  is  supposed  to  look  smarter, 
but  that  it  is  not  a  very  good  plan  is  proved 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  121 

by  the  aforesaid  catastrophe.  The  rings  on 
the  wheelers'  throat-lashes  are  really  much 
better  for  ordinary  use. 

My  father  used  to  drive  a  great  deal,  and, 
before  he  joined  the  Four-in-hand  Club,  he 
used  to  drive  the  Exeter  and  London  mail- 
coachs  regularly,  three  or  four  times  a  week, 
fifty  years  ago,  when  he  was  in  the  Ninth 
Lancers.  It  must  have  been  hardish  work, 
for  he  drove  all  night.  He  started  at 
seven  p.m.  after  his  day's  soldiering,  and 
drove  forty-four  miles  each  way,  get- 
ting back  to  barracks  at  seven  p.m.  next 
morning-. 

He  tells  me  they  only  took  eight  passengers 
with  them,  four  inside  and  four  out,  besides 
the  coachman,  and  the  guard  who  sat  by 
himself  behind,  with  his  feet  resting  on  the 
lid  of  the  box  in  which  lay  the  mail-bags, 
and  always  armed  with  two  pistols  and  a 
blunderbuss,  besides  the  horn. 

There  is  nothing  so  pretty  as  hearing 
a  coach  -  horn  really  well  blown,  and  very 
few  indeed  can  do  it  properly.  It  is, 
unfortunately,    a    thing    which    people    have 


122  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

no  conscience  about  attempting,  though  their 
listeners  are  not  left  in  doubt  as  to  whether 
they  are  proficients  in  the  art  from  the  first 
moment  they  seize  the  instrument.  How 
senseless  of  failure  they  are,  too,  as 
they  puff  out  their  cheeks  in  fatal  persever- 
ance, while  tears  start  from  their  eyes,  and 
the  noise ! — well,  that  once  heard,  is  not 
easily  forgotten.  Though  it  is  not  within 
the  province  of  a  coachman,  it  is  well  to 
know  how  to  make  "  music  on  three  feet 
of  tin,"  for  it  is  often  very  necessary  to 
arouse  sleepy  carters  and  all  the  other 
drowsy  souls  who  encumber  the  earth  and 
the  Queen's  highway. 

Like  catching  a  whip,  it  is  an  impossible 
thing  to  explain,  beyond  saying  that  you 
should  begin  by  putting  the  tip  of  your 
tongue  into  the  mouthpiece,  and  bring  it 
sharply  out  again  with  a  little  tip  sort  of 
sound,  and  without  puffing  out  your  cheeks 
at  all.  The  higher  the  notes  you  want 
to  get,  the  harder  you  should  compress 
your  lips  to  the  mouthpiece.  And  after 
all    is   said   and   done,   the   horn   it   is   that 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  i  2  x 


'&'  l  *  o 


generally  retains  the  mastery,  and  blessed 
indeed  is  he  who  achieves  anything  beyond 
the  air  generally  associated  with  the  decrease 
of  our  ancient  friend  the  cow. 

The  first  tandem  I  ever  drove  was  a  long 
time  ago,  when  I  was  quite  small,  and  ex- 
ceedingly proud  I  was  of  my  turnout.  It 
was  very  smart,  all  ivhite. 

It  certainly  had  the  merit  of  being  unique, 
for  my  wheeler  was  a  milk-white  goat  of 
tender  years,  while  my  leader  was  a  dis- 
reputable -  looking  old  bull-dog  of  equally 
snowy  hue,  and  the  harness  was  —  well, 
pocket-handkerchiefs — mostly  other  people's. 

I  drove  them  in  a  little  go-cart  on  low 
wheels,  and  they  went  very  well,  poor 
little  things,  though  I  always  had  to  run 
in  front  myself  and  call  them,  if  I  wanted 
them  to  go  at  all  fast. 

That  tandem  came  to  a  very  sad  and 
tragic  end,  for  I  grieve  to  say  that,  after 
many  months  of  close  friendship,  my  leader 
found  it  in  his  heart  to  devour  the  wheeler, 
which  black  deed  brought  my  tandem  to 
an  abrupt  termination. 


124  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

Some  years  ago  I  got  a  lot  of  practice 
driving  a  scratch  team  clown  from  Banff- 
shire  to  Fife.  A  long  journey,  which  took 
three  days  to  accomplish,  and  over  a  very 
rough  road  too,  for  the  first  stage  was 
forty  miles  right  across  the  moors.  Splendid 
wild  scenery,  but  most  horrible  going,  up 
hills  and  down  dales,  through  water  courses, 
and  scrambling  along  old  stage-coach  roads, 
which  could  hardly  be  dignified  now  by 
the  title  of  tracks.  We  scrambled  up  and 
down  the  steepest  of  mountains,  and  alto- 
gether felt  rather  relieved  when  at  length 
we  deserted  the  moor  and  gained  the  level 
road  quite  close  to  Balmoral. #  It  is  a 
beautiful  road  from  Balmoral  into  Brae  mar, 
broad  and  level,  with  wide  verges  of  grass 
on  either  side,  and  bordered  by  fir  trees, 
lighted  up  here  and  there  by  the  silver 
stems  and  golden  leaves  of  graceful  birches, 
while  the  river  Dee   dances  along  over  the 

*  Balmoral,  with  its  grey  pepperpots  and  tunnels,  standing- 
out  closely  against  the  dark  background  of  pine  trees  and 
fir  woods,  and  overshadowed  by  the  high  mountain  of  Loch- 
na-gar,  veiled  by  the  soft,  blue  haze  of  distance  peculiar 
to  the  Highlands. 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  12 


a 


rocks  and  stones  by  the  side  of  the  road, 
brawling  its  running  accompaniment  to  the 
rattle  of  the  bars  and  the  rhythm  of  the 
horses'  hoofs.  Passing  below  the  "  Lion's 
Face,"  and  just  outside  the  beautiful 
"  policies '  of  Invermark,  we  trotted  cheerily 
into  the  little  town  of  Braemar,  and  there 
put  up  for  the  night. 

The  second  stage  was  further  still,  and  wTe 
guessed  it  at  about  sixty  miles  on  to  Perth. 

Happily  the  horses  came  out  looking 
fresh  and  fit,  having  fed  and  rested  well, 
and,  by  ten  o'clock,  we  were  once  more 
on  the  move. 

This  time  the  roads  were  better,  but 
still  rather  elementary  in  some  places, 
and  we  encountered  several  of  those  old 
hogbacked  bridges  which  are  very  trying 
to  the  pole,  and  more  than  likely  to  break 
it  as  it  jerks  up,  on  the  top,  when  the 
leaders  are  going  down  one  side,  while 
the  wheelers  are  still  climbing  up  the 
other.  We  stopped  an  hour  at  Blair 
Athole  on  the  way,  and  fed  the  horses, 
while  wTe  ourselves  had  lunch. 


126  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

The  team  was  pretty  well  steadied  by  this 
time,  and  as  easy  to  drive  as  a  single  horse  ; 
though,  of  course,  it  needed  judgment  to 
keep  them  trotting  steadily  on  for  the  ten  or 
eleven  hours  it  took  to  do  the  journey. 

The  last  stage,  from  Perth  to  Fife,  was 
on  the  beautiful  old  north  road  all  the 
way,  and,  as  it  was  only  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles,  we  did  it  leisurely,  and 
turned  into  our  own  stable  -  yard  about 
three  hours  after  we  started. 

It  was  great  fun,  and,  after  driving  for 
so  long,  I  felt  I  could  have  gone  on  for 
weeks,  but  for  an  acute  knowledge  of  where 
every  bone  began  and  ended  in  both  my 
arms  and  back. 

We  accomplished  that  same  journey  twice 
that  year ;  the  first  time  in  spring,  and 
again  in  September  we  came  down  after  the 
grouse-shooting  with  a  different  team.  That 
second  time  was  not  quite  such  a  success, 
as  the  cold  was  something  frightful,  and  the 
hurricanes  that  swept  over  the  tops  of  those 
moorland  hills  nearly  blew7  us  all  away  (we 
had  a  brake  instead   of  the  coach,    as  being 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  127 

lighter  for  the  horses  and  handier  for  the 
luggage,  etc.).  The  whole  of  the  first  two 
days  it  poured  unceasingly,  a  good,  honest, 
unrelenting  deluge,  and  I  never  shall  forget 
our  plight  on  arriving  at  Blair  Athole,  soaked 
to  the  skin,  while  my  coat  pockets  were  so 
full  of  water  that  my  pocket  handkerchief 
was  floating  about  on  the  surface  like  a 
boat  on  a  pond. 

We  dried  ourselves  as  best  we  could  at 
the  kitchen  and  laundry  fires  of  the  hotel, 
but  wTe  were  just  as  sopped  as  ever  ten 
minutes  after  we  had  started  again.  How- 
ever, 'tis  a  poor  heart  that  never  rejoices, 
and  wTe  all  revived  later  in  the  evening,  after 
we  had  become  dry  and  warm  and  recurled 
(which  is  very  important  to  a  lady's  happi- 
ness). Nothing  makes  one  feel  so  miserable 
and  dejected  as  the  knowledge  one  is  "  quite 
unhanged,"  as  an  American  was  once  heard 
to  exclaim,  on  catching  sight  of  her  straight- 
ened fringe  in   the  looking-glass. 

I  have  always  been  very  fortunate  in  my 
cargo,  which  makes  a  vast  difference  to  one's 
pleasure  in  driving. 


128  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

I  do  not  object  to  my  passengers  clinging 
on  to  the  carriage,  nor  even  to  their  pinch- 
ing each  other,  but  people  who  shiver  and 
squeak,  and,  worse  than  all,  make  clutches 
at  the  reins,  ought  really  to  be  condemned 
to  take  the  air  in  handcuffs,  or  else  to 
walk. 

My  particular  friends  have  always  rather 
erred  on  the  side  of  foolhardiness,  and  I  shall 
never  forget  my  intense  surprise  at  the  rash- 
ness displayed  by  a  large  party  at  a  house 
where  I  was  staying  two  years  ago.  Our 
host,  being  the  possessor  of  a  very  nice  team, 
had  promised  to  drive  us  over  to  an  Agri- 
cultural Show  about  to  be  held  in  an  adjacent 
town  on  a  certain  Wednesday.  We  were  all 
looking  forward  to  our  outing  with  great  glee, 
and  nothing  occurred  to  agitate  our  minds 
until  the  very  day  of  the  anticipated  treat, 
when  early  that  morning  a  pencil  scrawl  was 
brought  me  from  my  host  saying  he  had 
been  suddenly  called  away  to  attend  some 
important  function  at  the  opposite  end  of 
the  country ;  he  therefore  could  not  come 
to  the  show,  but  if  I  cared  to  take  his  place 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  129 

and  drive  his  team  they  should  be  ready  at 
eleven  o'clock. 

I  immediately  thought — the  question  was 
not  so  much  would  I  like  to  drive  the  party, 
as  would  they  like  to  be  driven  by  me  f 

However,  after  most  anxious  and  searching 
inquirings  on  my  part  as  to  whether  they 
were  all  insured,  to  my  amazement  they 
bravely  asserted  they  would  in  any  case 
risk  it  and  come ! 

So  round  came  the  coach.  I  must  confess 
to  a  slight  misgiving  on  beholding  that  the 
usual  near  wheeler  'had  been  put  off  leader 
for  a  change,  and  in  his  stead  they  had 
given  me  an  ancient  and  ill-favoured  roan 
mare,  who,  I  knew,  had  never  been  driven 
in  a  team  before. 

No  sign  of  apprehension  escaped  me,  how- 
ever, as  I  clambered  sternly  on  to  the  box. 
The  start  was  a  little  sketchy,  as  the  roan 
mare  began  by  making  a  series  of  low  curt- 
seys, instead  of  progressing  in  the  ordinary 
way,  while  the  ex- wheeler  was  a  little  out 
of  his  element  too,  as  a  leader.  By  the  mercy 
of   Providence    I    succeeded    in    landing    my 

1 


1 30  Ladies  in  the  Field. 


o 


coach-load  safely  throagh  the  narrow  gate- 
way, and  on  to  the  field  (filled  as  it  was  by 
a  stupid  Scotch  crowd)  and  I  pulled  up  in 
triumph  by  the  barrier  of  the  show-ring. 

I  am  afraid  I  must  in  honesty  confess  that 
I  did  run  both  my  chariot  and  horses  into 
one  wire  fence  on  the  way — but  the  leaders 
would  think,  and  the  horses  were  all  so  deter- 
mined, that  they  knew  the  way  better  than 
/  did,  that  they  had  borne  us  half-way  past 
the  corner  before  I  could  get  hold  of  them 
to  turn  down  the  way  /  wished  to  go.  There 
was  no  harm  done,  luckily,  and  I  managed 
to  haul  them  out  again  undamaged,  and  pro- 
ceeded without  further  misadventure. 

There  are  not  many  things  much  more 
calculated  to  annoy,  than  a  horse  who  always 
"  thinks"  the  stupid  beast  who  will  stop  at 
every  shop  passing  through  his  own  village  on 
a  Sunday,  when  he  must  surely  see  that  all 
the  shops  are  shut,  or  the  animals  who  turn 
eagerly  down  every  lane  and  corner  that  they 
come  to,  albeit  they  have  passed  by  that  road 
a  thousand  times  before  and  have  never  been 
called  upon  to  turn  either  to  right  hand    or 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  1 3 1 

to  the  left.  And  yet  a  horse  who  wont  think 
is  almost  equally  exasperating.  Such  a  beast 
seems  glad  enough  to  lame  himself  or  stamp  on 
one's  toes  without  thinking  even  for  a  moment 
whether  it  mig;ht  be  inconvenient  or  other- 
wise  distasteful  to  his  employers. 

One  thing  I  have  forgotten  to  put  down, 
is  what  to  do  in  the  event  of  a  wheeler  lying 
on  the  pole  (which  of  course  shoves  it  to  one 
side,  and  the  coach  must  needs  follow  in  its 
train).  Supposing,  then,  your  off  wheeler 
happens  to  be  performing  this  antic  and  is 
pushing  the  whole  coach  by  his  weight  to 
the  left  side.  You  should  pull  your  leaders 
to  the  right,  and,  by  so  doing,  make  them 
pull  the  pole  across  until  you  get  the  concern 
straight  again. 

The  only  upset  my  father  ever  had  with 
a  team  was  caused  by  his  omitting  to  do  this, 
and  that  is  why  he  told  me  never  to  forget  it. 

I    have    been    implicated    in   many   other 
strange   drives,    notably   two   with    tandems 
and  one  with  three  horses  abreast. 

I  will  begin  with  the  last  one  first,  as  it 
was  a  very  transient  experience. 


132  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

One  very  snowy  winter  we  had  to  take 
recourse  to  a  sleclge  to  get  about  the  roads 
at  all,  and  although  it  is  very  delightful  at 
first,  when  one  hopes  that  every  night  will 
bring  a  nice  thaw  (how  the  frozen-out  fox- 
hunter  prays  for  that  night),  after  three 
or  four  weeks'  incessaut  frost  and  snow  the 
novelty  of  sleighing  wears  off  and  one  longs 
for  some  new  excitement. 

We  had  arrived  at  these  extremes,  my 
father  and  I,  so,  struck  by  a  happy  inspira- 
tion, we  one  clay  determined  to  "  yoke '  three 
ponies  abreast  in  our  sledge  and  see  what 
would  happen.  We  had  not  long  to  wait  for 
the  result,  for  no  sooner  were  they  harnessed 
and  we  leapt  in,  than  away  they  all  went  with 
one  accord  down  the  avenue  as  hard  as  ever 
they  could  rattle,  kicking  great  hard  snow- 
balls into  our  faces  all  the  way.  Down  the 
hill  and  across  the  grass  like  mad  things. 
My  father  put  the  whip  between  his  teeth 
and  held  on  with  all  his  might.  I  relieved 
him  of  his  whip  and  sat  tight,  until  we 
reached  a  big  beech  tree,  with  a  sort  of 
mound  round  its  roots.     Here  the  ponies  dis- 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  133 

agreed  as  to  which  side  they  should  go,  but, 
to  avoid  any  jealousy  or  ill-feeling,  they 
settled  the  question  by  one  going  to  the 
right,  while  the  other  two  elected  to  take 
the  left  hand  side  of  the  tree.  This  fairly 
finished  our  flight,  for  the  sledge  dashed  up 
sideways  against  the  roots  and  then  turned 
over  like  a  turtle.  Of  course  we  were  both 
precipitated  on  to  the  road  and  were  dragged 
along  some  little  way  by  the  rugs.  Fortun- 
ately there  was  a  gate  which  happened  to 
be  shut  a  little  further  on,  and  this  ended  our 
troubles  by  stopping  the  ponies  altogether, 
and  there  they  all  stood  with  their  heads 
craning  over  the  fence,  while  we  picked  our- 
selves up  and  disentangled  ourselves  from 
the  debris.  Luckily  the  sledge  being  so 
very  near  the  ground  we  were  not  hurt, 
and  really,  being  dragged  along  by  the  rugs 
was  rather  a  pleasant  sensation.  Though  it 
is  a  good  thing  to  remember,  when  one  is 
being  run  away  with,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances in  a  carriage,  to  undo  the  rugs 
and  keep  your  legs  clear,  in  case  of  accidents. 
How  often  have  rugs  and  petticoats  caused 


134  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

one  to  fall  headlong   in  getting  in  and   out 
of  "machines"    (as   our  Scotch  people  say). 
Never   shall  I  forget   one    Sunday   morning, 
on   our  arrival   at   the   church    door,   when   I 
proceeded  (in  all  the  glory  of  my  Sunday-go- 
to-meeting  apparel)  to  climb  down  from  the 
clog-cart,    which    was  pretty  high    and   fitted 
out  with  the  most  inhuman  arrangements  of 
steps.     I  tripped  jauntily  off   the   first   step 
towards   the   second   wThen    I   became    aware 
that   my   body   was    extended   on    the   cold, 
cold  ground,  and  my  head  was  resting  con- 
fidingly between   the   horses   two  hind   feet. 
What   had   happened  ?     Oh,    only   my    frock 
had   remained    swathed   round   the  top  step, 
that  was  all.     Mercifully  the  horse  was  tame, 
and   made   no   objection    to    my  unexpected 
arrival  among  his  hind  legs.     I  had  to  crawl 
out  from  under  the  cart,  covered  with   mud 
and  speechless  with  fury.     Two  broken  knees, 
and   two   scratched   palms,    gloves   destroyed 
beyond   all   hope,    and   my  hat  jobbed   over 
one   eye,    everybody    in   fits   of  laughter,    of 
course,  especially   my   own  family.     Why   is 
it,  I  wonder,  that  one's  own  relations  always 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  i  35 

display  such  extreme  lack  of  good  taste  on 
such  occasions  ?  I  must  say  I  arose  from 
that  puddle  in  anything  but  a  Christian-like 
and  Sabbatical  frame  of  mind. 

I  fared  better,  however,  than  another  young 
friend  of  mine,  who,  in  dismounting  out  of 
the  very  same  cart,  turned  a  Catherine  wheel 
and  alighted  on  the  road  with  a  broken  arm. 

Be  cautious,  therefore,  and  always  scramble 
out  of  a  cart  or  carriage  backwards,  and,  if 
the  step  be  high,  see  that  your  dress  descends 
with  you  and  does  not  remain  at  the  top. 

One  of  the  tandem  drives  I  mentioned 
happened  some  two  years  ago,  when  my 
sister  and  I  were  staying  with  some  friends 
about  sixteen  miles  from  home.  We  had  been 
out  cub-hunting  all  morning,  found  an  old 
fox,  and  had  a  capital  run,  which  landed  us 
quite  close  to  our  own  front  door  just  in  time 
for  luncheon.  This,  of  course,  we  could  not 
resist,  so  we  put  our  horses  in  and  to  our  joy 
discovered  a  dog-cart  had  arrived — sent  by 
our  kind  hostess  to  convey  us  back  to  her 
house,  while  the  groom  led  our  horses  home. 
Having  sent  them    off   under  his  charge  we 


136  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

proceeded  to  put  the  harness  horse  into  his 
dog-cart,  and  were  just  about  to  start  when 
a  telegram  arrived  from  my  father  (who  was 
also  away  from  home),  ordering  our  groom  to 
take  a  horse  over  to  K —  for  him  to  hunt  next 
day. 

As  "  K  "  happened  to  be  the  very  place  we 
were  starting  for,  we  determined  to  take  his 
horse  over  ourselves.  But  how  ?  that  was  the 
question. 

We  did  not  quite  like  the  idea  of  tying  him 
on  behind,  for  well  we  knew  he  would  be 
certain  to  tumble  over  something  during  the 
journey  and  contrive  to  break  his  knees. 

Why  not  tie  him  on  in  front  we  both  ex- 
claimed, with  that  "  one  great  mind  which 
jumps." 

Of  course  that  was  obviously  the  way  to 
get  him  over  those  intervening  sixteen  miles 
of  hill. 

As  he  was  the  bigger  of  the  two,  and  had 
never  been  driven  in  tandem  before,  we 
thought  we  had  better  put  him  in  wheeler. 
Hastily  pulling  out  the  horse  which  was 
already  harnessed  we  proceeded  to  try  and  fit 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  137 

our  own  rotund  steed  between  the  shafts. 
His  figure,  however,  was  hardly  slim  enough 
for  the  position,  and  he  began  to  resent  the 
suggestion  with  some  asperity. 

Satisfied  that  we  should  do  no  good  with 
them  that  way  on,  we  reversed  the  order ; 
replacing  the  original  horse  in  the  wheel, 
we  hitched  our  obese  animal  on  in  front.  We 
then  started.  I  must  say  he  fired  some  most 
alarming  salutes  with  his  heels  going  down  the 
avenue,  and  terrified  us  for  the  safety  of  our 
borrowed  wheeler,  but  the  ensuing  hills  very 
soon  settled  him  down  and  brought  him  to 
reason,  which  was  well  for  us,  as  we  had  not 
started  on  our  journey  till  pretty  late,  and  it 
was  rapidly  becoming  dark.  Needless  to  say 
we  had  no  lamps,  the  road  was  horribly  rough 
and  mountainous,  and  we  had  still  many  miles 
to  go.  At  last  we  turned  in  to  the  lodge  gates 
and  up  the  avenue  at  K — .  It  was  dark  enough 
outside  on  the  road,  where  I  could  just  see 
my  wheeler's  outline  in  the  gloom,  but  here 
among  the  trees  (for  the  approach  is  more  of 
a  wood  than  an  avenue)  it  was  so  pitch  dark 
I  positively    could  not  see  my  own  hand  in 


138  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

front  of  me.  Having  no  light,  we  proceeded 
by  faith,  and  appeared  to  be  getting  on  ex- 
tremely well,  when  suddenly,  with  an  awful 
jolt  and  a  bump,  the  whole  concern  stopped 
short  and  I  nearly  flew  off  my  perch  with 
the  jerk.  My  sister  was  out  like  a  shot  and 
got  to  the  wheeler's  head.  He  was  still  there, 
that  she  could  feel ;  groping  a  little  further 
she  collided  with  the  leader,  he  was  there 
too,  that  was  a  comfort,  anything  further  she 
could  not  discover  without  the  aid  of  a  light. 

Fortunately  we  had  provided  ourselves  with 
some  matches  just  in  case,  and,  on  striking 
one,  we  discovered  both  horses  standing  on 
three  legs,  one  of  the  leader's  traces  having 
caught  round  his  off  hind  leg,  while  the 
other  trace  was  twisted  over  the  wheeler's 
near  fore  leg!  They  both  behaved  like  true 
Britons,  and  waited  patiently  until  we  got 
them  disentangled  and  set  straight  again, 
when  we  set  off  once  more  and  managed 
to  get  to  our  destination  without  further 
mishap. 

The  last  exciting;  drive  I  had  with  a  tandem 
was  again  with  my  father,  and  again  in  the 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  139 

snow."  The  roads  were  barely  passable  with 
snowdrifts  piled  up  on  either  side  six  foot 
high  or  more.  It  so  happened  that  Colonel 
Gardyne  had  been  staying  with  us,  and  it 
behoved  him  to  get  away  by  a  certain  train 
on  a  certain  day. 

Inexorable  to  our  entreaties  to  postpone 
his  departure,  we  were  obliged  to  accede  to  his 
request  that  he  might  be  borne  somehow  to 
the  station.  As  the  roads  were  very  bad 
and  too  heavy  with  snow  for  one  horse,  we 
selected  another  out  of  the  stable  and  put  him 
on  in  front ;  we  then  scrambled  into  the  dog- 
cart and  prepared  for  the  worst.  As  it  hap- 
pened, however,  we  were  not  prepared  for 
what  followed.  The  leader  had  not  been  in 
before  and  did  not  fancy  the  game,  nor  did 
he  approve  of  the  snow  walls  ;  notwithstanding 
this  we  got  to  the  station  fairly  intact  and 
deposited  our  guest  in  safety. 

We  had  not  proceeded  far  on  our  home- 
ward journey  when  a  great  black  puffing 
engine  made  its  appearance  round  a  corner, 
with  crimson  eyes,  and  snorts,  and  noise,  and 
all  the  honours  attendant  on  a  perambulating 


140  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

thrashing  machine.  Horrid  things  they  are  at 
the  best  of  times,  but  more  especially  objection- 
able when  one  has  a  couple  of  three-cornered 
horses,  one  behind  the  other.  Of  course  the 
effect  of  this  apparition  was  wild  confusion, 
the  leader  waltzed  round  and  round  till  he 
got  tied  up  into  a  knot,  then  set  to  work,  and 
kicked  himself  free,  breaking  every  stitch  of 
harness  on  his  body. 

We  had  no  extra  tackle  (which  was  foolish), 
therefore  the  only  thing  to  be  done  was  to  get 
him  home.  Luckily  we  were  not  far  away,  so 
I  scrambled  on  to  his  back  and  rode  him,  using 
the  remains  of  the  pad  as  a  pommel  and  got 
him  in  all  safe. 

My  father  having  some  business  in  the 
neighbouring  town  went  on  in  the  cart  alone. 
Soon  he  overtook  an  ally,  who,  bent  on  the 
same  errand,  was  stumping  bravely  through 
the  slush  (having  wisely  refrained  from  taking 
out  his  own  horses  on  such  a  road).  On  being 
offered  a  lift  he  mounted  gladly,  thankful  to 
curtail  his  disagreeable  tramp,  and  reassured 
by  the  sight  of  a  single  and  confidential- 
looking   quadruped.     His    joy,    however,    was 


Team  and  Tandem  Driving.  141 

shortlived,  for  the  very  next  turn  happened  to 
lead  straight  up  to  our  park  gates.  Dobbin 
(being  one  of  the  genus  I  object  to  so  strongly 
who  "think")  instantly  thought,  and  made 
a  dive  for  the  corner.  The  wheel,  colliding 
violently  against  the  curb-stone,  precipitated 
the  unfortunate  passenger  headlong  into  a 
snow-drift,  where  he  remained  half  buried, 
with  only  a  large  pair  of  feet  flapping  in  the 
air  to  indicate  the  spot  where  the  casualty 
had  occurred. 

Eosie  Anstruther  Thomson. 


TIGERS  I  HAVE  SHOT. 


"TIGEKS  I  HAVE  SHOT." 

By  Mrs  C.  Martelli. 

My  personal  experiences  of  tiger-shooting  in 
India  have  been  neither  on  a  large  scale  nor 
of  a  very  heroic  and  exciting  nature ;  yet, 
such  as  they  are,  I  gladly  place  them  upon 
record  for  the  sake  of  those  who  may  not 
have  had  the  good  fortune  to  see  sport  of 
this  particular  kind.  Tiger-shooting,  how- 
ever, has  been  so  well  and  so  often  described 
that  I  cannot  hope  to  be  able  to  tell  anything 
of  a  novel  character  about  it. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  "assist" 
(in  the  French  sense  of  the  word)  at  the  death 
of  five  tigers.  And  here  I  should  premise 
that,  according  to  the  laws  of  Indian  sport,  a 
tiger  is  considered  the  trophy  of  the  gun  that 
first  hits  it,  whether  that  shot  prove  fatal  or 
not.  As  will  be  seen  presently,  I  succeeded  in 
killing  the  third  of  the  five,  but  it  was  my 
husband's  tiger  and  not  mine,  as  my  first  shot 

K 


146  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

missed  it.  I  did  not  kill  the  first  and  second 
of  the  five,  but  they  were  my  tigers  because  I 
was  the  first  to  hit  them.  In  the  case  of  the 
fourth  tiger  I  was  the  first  to  hit,  and  with  a 
second  shot  I  killed  it ;  but  the  tiger  was 
mine  by  virtue  of  the  first  shot,  not  the 
second.  This  is  a  not  unfair  rule,  because 
the  first  shot  often  proves  fatal,  even  though 
for  a  time  the  tiger  manages  to  get  away, 
and  if  some  rule  of  the  kind  were  not  in 
existence,  and  the  tiger  were  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  gun  that  appeared  to  administer 
the  cowp  de  grace,  there  would  be  a  great 
deal  of  indiscriminate  firing,  which  would  re- 
sult, to  say  the  least  of  it,  in  the  skin  being 
hopelessly  ruined. 

But  to  come  to  my  story.  In  January 
1887,  my  husband,  Colonel  Martelli,  who  was 
at  the  time  Political  Agent  and  Superinten- 
dent of  the  Estates  of  Eewa,  Central  India  (the 
Maharajah  being  a  minor),  was  making  his 
annual  tour,  and  we  were  in  camp  at  Go- 
vindghur,  about  fourteen  miles  from  the  capital. 
There  were  with  us  my  sister,  the  agency  sur- 
geon and  the  usual  tribe  of  camp  followers. 


Tigers  I  have  shot.  147 

After  we  had  been  in  camp  about  a  week,  a 
shikari  brought  us  news  that  there  was  un- 
questionably a  tiger  not  many  miles  away. 
To  discover  more  exactly  where  he  was, 
buffaloes  were  tied  as  bait  to  trees  in  four  or 
five  places,  at  a  radius  of  three  or  four  miles 
from  the  camp,  and  we  waited  in  much  ex- 
citement for  further  intelligence.  As  ap- 
parel of  a  very  noticeable  or  attractive 
character  is  obviously  unsuited  to  a  tiger-hunt, 
I  gave  my  native  tailor  overuight  some  plain 
cotton  material,  and  he  presented  it  to  me  in 
the  morning,  dyed  green  and  made  up  into  a 
serviceable  dress.  He  had  also  covered  my 
Terai  sun-hat  with  the  same  material.  Early 
in  the  morning  word  came  into  camp  that  we 
were  to  be  on  the  alert,  and,  about  ten  a.m., 
news  reached  us  that  the  tiger  had  been 
seen. 

We  started  off  immediately,  my  husband 
and  I  on  one  elephant,  and  the  doctor  and  my 
sister  on  another.  Seated  behind  us  in  the 
howdah  was  a  shikari,  carrying  our  guns. 
My  weapon  was  a  450  double  express  rifle,  by 
Alex.  Henry. 


148  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

We  had  had  Chota  Hazrie,  so  took  a  lunch- 
breakfast  with  us.  Passing  on  our  way  what 
we  thought  would  be  a  charming  spot  for  our 
dejeuner,  we  left  our  servant  Francis  there 
with  our  hamper.  Imagine  our  disgust  when, 
upon  reaching  this  spot,  hungry  and  expect- 
ant, on  our  return,  we  found  that  Francis 
had  disappeared,  and  with  him  all  traces  of 
the  hoped-for  meal.  It  turned  out  afterwards 
that  some  bears  had  come  unexpectedly  upon 
the  scene,  and  Francis  had,  not  altogether 
unnaturally,  sought  refuge  in  flight. 

Ignorant  of  the  fate  of  our  breakfast,  how- 
ever,  we  pushed  on,  and  about  two  miles  from 
camp  met  the  head  shikari — Mothi  Singh  by 
name.  Acting  under  his  instructions  we  dis- 
mounted  and  followed  him  through  the  jungle. 
We  pushed  along  what  professed  to  be  a  path, 
but  of  which  all  I  can  say  in  its  favour  is  that 
it  was  slightly  better  than,  the  jungle  of  grass 
and  underwood  through  which  it  passed,  more 
than  once  indeed  boughs  and  branches  had  to 
be  cut  down  to  make  it  possible  for  my  sister 
and  myself  to  get  along. 

We   at   length   reached   a   rock,  fifteen   or 


Tigers  I  have  shot.  1 49 

twenty  feet  in  height,  on  the  summit  of  which 
Mothi  Singh  placed  us,  and  past  which  the 
tiger  would  be  driven.  I  was  to  have  first 
shot.  The  beaters,  three  hundred  or  four 
hundred  in  number,  now  bes;an  their  work, 
shouting,  beating  drums  and  tom-toms,  blow- 
ing bugles,  firing  blank  cartridges,  and 
steadily  pressing  forward  in  our  direction. 
We,  of  course,  maintained  the  most  profound 
silence,  and  watched  with  the  deepest  interest 
for  the  appearance  of  the  tiger.  As  we  waited, 
all  sorts  of  creatures,  scared  by  the  beaters, 
passed  us — pig  and  deer,  pea-fowl  and  jungle 
fowl,  the  majestic  sambhur,  and  the  pretty 
nilghai,  not  to  mention  foxes  and  jackals,  went 
by  within  shot,  but  for  to-day,  at  anyrate,  they 
were  safe.  At  last  came  the  tig;er.  He  ad- 
vanced  like  an  enormous  cat,  now  crouching 
upon  the  ground,  now  crawling  forward,  now 
turning  round  to  try  and  discover  the  mean- 
ing of  the  unwonted  noise  behind  him.  When 
he  was  about  eighty  yards  from  us  I  fired  and 
hit  him  on  the  shoulder  ;  then  the  others  fired, 
and  the  tiger  bolted.  At  this  moment  Hera 
Sahib,  the    commander-in-chief  of  the   Rewa 


150  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

army,  and  who  had  been  directing  "the  beat," 
came  up  on  an  elephant,  and,  as  he  had 
brought  with  him  a  spare  elephant,  my  hus- 
band mounted  the  latter,  and  they  went  off 
together  in  search  of  the  tiger,  leaving  us 
upon  the  rock. 

Two  hours  later  they  came  upon  the 
wounded  tiger  hiding  in  the  jungle.  The 
moment  he  saw  that  he  was  discovered,  he 
charged  Hera  Sahib's  elephant,  and  the  latter, 
being  a  young  animal,  bolted.  The  tiger  then 
turned  and  charged  the  elephant  my  husband 
was  riding,  which  stood  his  ground.  The 
tiger,  charged  underneath  the  elephant,  but 
fortunately  my  husband  got  a  snap-shot  at 
him  and  rolled  him  over.  He  crept  into 
the  jungle  again,  however,  but  was  now 
past  serious  resistance,  and  although  he 
made  a  brave  attempt  to  reach  his  enemies, 
he  was  easily  despatched.  He  measured 
over  nine  feet  in  length. 

My  husband's  tour  over,  we  returned  to  our 
head -quarters  at  Eewa,  and  a  very  few  days 
later,  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  news  came 
that  another  tiger  had  been   seen  in  the  same 


Tigers  I  have  shot.  1 5 l 


*<3 


neighbourhood  as  that  in  which  we  shot  the 
first.  My  husband  and  I  started  off  at  three 
the  next  morning  in  a  dog-cart ;  our  horse  was 
only  half  broken  in,  and  I  was  driving. 
About  eleven  and  a  half  miles  from  Govind- 
ghar  our  steed  deposited  us  in  a  ditch,  and 
we  were  compelled  to  walk  the  rest  of  the 
way  there.  At  Govindghar  elephants  were 
in  waiting  for  us,  and  we  made  our  way 
ill  much  the  same  fashion  as  on  the  previous 
occasion  to  the  rock  of  which  I  have  already 
told.  The  beat,  too,  was  precisely  similar  to 
the  former  one.  Presently  the  tiger  ap- 
peared. I  was  so  struck  by  his  magnificent 
appearance,  that,  although  I  was  to  have 
first  shot,  I  waited  so  long  that  eventually 
my  husband  and  I  fired  together.  The  tiger 
facing  us,  I  fired  again,  and  then,  in  his  rage, 
he  charged  straight  at  the  rock  on  which  we 
were  standing:.  As  he  came  on  I  fired  a  third 
time,  and  hit  him  between  the  shoulders.  He 
disappeared  somewhere  at  the  base  of  the 
rock,  and,  although  he  was  out  of  sight, 
we  could  hear  him  growling  with  pain.  We 
did  not  dare,  of  course,  to  come  down  from  our 


152  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

rock,  as  we  had  no  idea  where  he  was,  or 
to  what  extent  he  was  crippled,  but,  after 
waiting  about  half-an-hour,  Hera  Sahib 
came  up  on  an  elephant  and  killed  him. 
It  turned  out  that  the  tiger  had  crept  under 
another  rock  at  the  base  of  that  on  which 
we  were  standing,  and  was  too  badly 
wounded  to  come  out  and  face  his  foes. 
This  tiger  wras  a  much  handsomer,  and  a 
larger  one  than  the  first. 

Not  long  after  the  above,  my  husband 
was  appointed  Political  Agent,  Eastern  States, 
Rajputana,  which  consists  of  Bhurtpore, 
Dholepore,  and  Karowlie.  Each  state  has 
its  own  Bajah.  I  did  no  more  tiger- 
shooting  until  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1891. 

In  February  then  we  went  to  Karowlie, 
and  on  our  arrival  there  we  were  met  by 
the  Maharajah,  who  at  once  informed  us 
that  news  had  just  arrived  that  a  tiger 
was  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  courteously 
asked  us  to  accompany  him  in  pursuit  of 
it.  We  gladly  accepted  this  invitation,  and 
were  told  to  hold  ourselves  in   readiness,  as 


Tigers  I  have  shot.  153 

a  gun  would  be  fired  from  the  palace  as  soon 
as  definite  information  arrived,  and  it  would 
then  be  necessary  to  start  at  once. 

The  gun  was  fired  at  about  noon  and  off 
we  went,  the  Maharajah  and  his  retinue,  and 
our  two  selves.  We  were  conducted  through 
very  thick  jungle  to  the  Maharajah's  shooting- 
box,  about  nine  miles  distant.  We  were  able 
to  ride  only  a  portion  of  the  way,  part  of 
the  remainder  I  was  carried  in  a  "Tonjon' 
(sedan  chair),  and  for  the  rest  of  the  journey 
I  had  to  walk  and  struggle  through  the  dense 
jungle  as  best  I  could.  The  shooting-box  we 
found  to  consist  of  a  small  stone  tower,  built 
on  the  edge  of  a  ravine.  We  were  posted 
upon  the  top  of  the  tower,  and  the  tiger  was 
to  be  driven  up  the  ravine  and  within  shot 
of  our  rifles. 

The  Maharajah  is  a  very  keen  sportsman 
and  a  capital  shot,  but  with  great  politeness 
he  insisted  upon  my  firing  first.  Alas,  when 
the  moment  arrived — and  the  tiger — the 
jungle  was  so  thick  that  I  could  hardly  see 
the  animal,  and,  I  regret  to  say,  I  missed  him 
altogether.     My  husband  fired  and  wounded 


154  L  a  dies  in  the  Field. 

the  tiger  severely ;  I  then  fired  again  and 
killed  him. 

News  was  brought  to  us  not  to  leave  our 
post  as  there  was  another  tiger  in  the  jungle. 
The  Maharajah  had  been  much  put  out  at 
my  missing  my  first  shot  and  so  losing  the 
tiger,  but  insisted  courteously  on  my  having 
an  opportunity  of  retrieving  my  disaster ;  of 
course  I  was  only  too  glad  to  avail  myself 
of  his  kindness. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  second  tiger  ap- 
peared, and,  getting  a  better  view  of  him 
than  of  his  predecessor,  I  succeeded  in  hit- 
ting him  in  the  chest.  The  Maharajah  then 
fired  and  put  a  second  bullet  into  him ;  I 
fired  and  gave  him  his  coup  de  grdce. 

Within  a  week  news  was  brought  to 
Karowlie  that  another  tiger  had  made  his 
appearance,  this  time  about  ten  miles  away, 
and  in  quite  another  direction.  The  whole 
country  in  this  neighbourhood  was  cut  up 
by  ravines,  and  when  we  arrived  at  the 
place  indicated  to  us,  we  found  that  there  was 
no  rock  which  we  could  turn  into  a  citadel, 
no  haudy  tree  from  whose  branches  we  might 


Tigers  I  have  shot.  155 

fire  upon  the  foe,  and  of  course  no  shooting- 
box  ;  and,  as  in  addition,  it  was  quite  impos- 
sible to  bring  the  elephants  along,  we  had  to 
take  our  stand  on  foot  and  hope  for  the  best. 
Should  the  wounded  tiger  charge  us,  we 
should  have  to  make  sure  of  stopping  him 
before  he  could  reach  us.  With  us,  on  this 
occasion,  were  three  young  officers,  who  had 
never  been  present  at  a  tiger-hunt,  and  who 
probably  had  never  seen  a  tiger  out  of  the 
Zoological  Gardens.  Accordingly,  they  were 
allowed  to  draw  for  choice  of  places  and  for 
first  shot.  They  naturally  selected  the  coign 
of  vantage,  and  between  them  slew  the  tiger. 
1  did  not  even  see  him  till  he  was  dead 
They  went  off  immediately,  in  a  great  state 
of  elation ;  but  the  Maharajah  told  me  that 
there  was  a  panther  in  the  jungle.  Presently 
the  animal  came  in  sight  with  a  tremendous 
rush,  and  I  fired,  wounding  him  severely  ; 
but  although  we  traced  him  for  some  miles 
we  saw  no  more  of  him  and  he  got  away. 

This  is  all  I  have  to  tell.  If,  from  the 
description  I  have  given,  anyone  should  be 
inclined  to  say  that  the  tiger  does  not  appear 


156  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

to  have  much  chance  of  escape,  the  answer 
is  that  it  is  not  intended  that  he  should  have 
any.  Tigers  are  shot  in  India,  not  as  game  is 
in  England  for  hunting,  to  give  amusement 
to  men,  horses  and  dogs,  not  as  in  pheasant 
or  partridge  shooting,  with  a  remote  re- 
ference to  the  demands  of  the  table,  but  to 
save  the  lives  of  the  natives  and  their  cattle. 
If  you  don't  kill  the  tiger  he  will  kill  you. 
But  although  the  odds  are  on  the  shikari 
and  against  the  tiger,  whether  you  fire 
from  the  back  of  an  elephant,  from  the  top 
of  a  rock,  or  in  the  branch  of  a  tree,  there  is 
always  room,  unfortunately,  for  a  misad- 
venture, and  consequently  tiger-shooting  will 
always  be  a  useful  school  for  endurance,  judg- 
ment and  self-reliance. 

Kate  Martelli. 


RIFLE-SHOOTING. 


RIFLE-SHOOTING. 

By  Miss  Leale. 

At  the  Bisley  Meeting  of  1891,  I  took 
part  in  some  of  the  competitions  open  to 
all  comers.  The  measure  of  success  which 
I  achieved  has  gained  a  publicity  for  which 
I  was  scarcely  prepared,  and  has  brought 
around  me  a  group  of  correspondents  who 
have  plied  me  with  questions  as  to  my 
experience  in  rifle-shooting,  and  the  rise 
and  progress  of  my  devotion  to  an  accom- 
plishment so  unusual  for  ladies,  and  even 
deemed  by  many  to  be  somewhat  out  of 
their  reach. 

I  purpose,  therefore,  to  put  a  few  notes 
together,  in  which  I  shall  endeavour  to 
answer  some  of  the  questions  proposed  to 
me,  and  to  relate  such  passages  of  my  ex- 
perience as  may  serve  to  encourage  those  of 
my  own  sex  who  may  have  some  ambition 

in  this  direction. 

159 


160  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

It  was  a  little  more  than  four  years  ago 
when  I  first  handled  a  Martini-Henry  rifle. 
I  was  looking  on  at  the  shooting  one  after- 
noon at  the  Guernsey  "Wimbledon,"  and 
wondered  if  it  was  a  very  difficult  thing  to 
hit  the  target,  which  appeared  to  me  to 
be  such  a  mere  speck  when  seen  from  so 
great  a  distance.  I  had,  some  time  before 
this,  fired  a  few  shots  with  a  fowling-piece 
at  an  impromptu  target,  but  rifle-shooting 
looked  to  me  far  more  real  and  interesting. 
At  length  I  succeeded  in  persuading  my 
father  to  allow  me  to  try  my  hand  at  a  shot 
with  a  rifle. 

I  remember  that  there  was  some  discussion, 
at  that  time,  about  the  recoil,  but  as  I  was  so 
very  ignorant  of  the  management  and  powers 
of  the  rifle,  I  did  not  give  this  really  serious 
question  the  necessary  attention.  I  believe 
that  had  I  heard,  at  this  early  stage,  as  much 
about  recoil  as  I  have  since,  I  should  probably 
have  been  afraid  to  shoot  with  a  Martini. 

A  certain  militia  man,  who  is  now  one  of 
our  best  shots,  related  to  me  a  curious 
incident   which   happened    to   him   when   he 


Rifle-Shooting.  1 6 1 

first  fired  with  a  service  rifle.  He  was 
shooting  in  the  prone  position ;  and,  after 
pulling  the  trigger,  he  heard  a  great  noise, 
and  immediately  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
smoke  about ;  but  the  rifle  had  disappeared. 
On  looking  round,  however,  he  saw  his  rifle 
behind  him  !  He  had  been  resting  the  under 
part  of  the  butt  lightly  on  his  shoulders,  and 
holding  the  rifle  loosely  ;  thus  the  force  of  the 
recoil  had  actually  driven  it  past  him  over  his 
shoulder. 

I  have  heard  of  many  other  cases  of  the 
recoil  becoming  dangerous ;  but  I  believe  it 
is  from  fear  of  being  "kicked"  that  recruits 
fail  to  hold  their  rifles  properly  while  pulling 
the  trigger. 

In  my  own  case,  certainly,  "  ignorance  was 
bliss";  for,  in  firing  my  first  shot,  I  was 
enabled  to  give  my  whole  attention  to  keep- 
ing the  rifle  steady,  and  placing  it  firmly 
against  my  shoulder  for  that  purpose  alone 
undisturbed  by  any  fear  of  recoil.  And  I 
believe  that  this  absence  of  fear  is  the  chief 
reason  why  I  have  been  able  to  use  a  Martini- 
Henry  rifle  without  suffering  from  the  recoil. 

L 


1 62  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

Thinking  from  the  experience  of  my  first 
shot  that  shooting  was  easy,  I  was  anxious  to 
go  on  with  it.  Many  experienced  shots 
volunteered  information  which  was  very 
helpful ;  but  I  soon  discovered  that  I  was 
wrong  in  thinking  that  rifle-shooting  was 
merely  a  matter  of  seeing  the  bull's  eye  over 
the  sights.  The  first  difficulty  was  that  of 
keeping  the  rifle  steady.  I  had  to  learn 
exactlv  how  to  hold  it  and  for  this  I  had  to 
study  position. 

I  had  fired  my  first  shot  in  the  kneeling 
position.  I  did  not  then  know  of  any  other, 
except  the  standing  and  lying  down.  The 
former  I  could  not  manage,  as  the  rifle  was 
too  heavy  to  hold  up  without  any  support 
for  the  arms ;  and  the  lying  down  position 
seemed  to  me,  then,  to  require  a  great  deal 
of  practice.  This  conjecture  has  been  well 
justified  by  my  subsequent  experience.  I 
have  never  since  fired  from  the  kneeling 
position,  as  a  much  better  one  was  recom- 
mended to  me,  namely,  the  sitting  position. 
In  this  way  I  can  have  a  rest  for  both  arms, 
which    is     an    advantage    over     the      other 


Rifle-Shooting.  163 

method  in  which  it  is  only  possible  to  rest 
one. 

Having  chosen  a  position,  I  found  that  it 
needed  a  great  deal  of  studying.  It  was  then 
that  I  discovered  another  great  difficulty,  i.e., 
that  of  pulling  the  trigger  without  disturbing 
the  aim.  I  received  some  advice  on  this 
subject  which  at  first  sounded  rather  curious. 
I  was  told  to  squeeze  the  trigger  "like  I 
would  a  lemon  "  and  to  let  it  go  off  without 
my  knowing.  This  accomplishment  requires 
a  great  deal  of  practice,  but  is  well  worth  the 
trouble  of  learning ;  for  I  am  confident  that 
it  is  the  great  secret  of  good  shooting. 

During  my  first  few  months  of  shooting, 
I  only  used  to  think  of  taking  a  correct 
aim  at  the  bull's  eye,  and  trying  to  keep 
still  while  pulling  the  trigger.  I  was  so 
absorbed  in  this  effort,  that  it  did  not  occur 
to  me  for  some  time  that  there  was  much 
more  than  this  dexterity  to  be  gained  in 
order  to  be  sure  of  making  a  good  score. 
There  remained  the  great  question  of  find- 
ing the  bull's  eye. 

This,    of    coursce,    involves    the  scientific 


164  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

part  of  rifle-shootirjg ;  and  although,  at 
first,  I  was  alarmed  at  the  difficulty  of  the 
subject,  I  soon  saw  that  the  shooting  would 
become  tame  and  monotonous  without  it. 

The  range  where  I  was  in  the  habit  of 
practising  (and  still  do  practise)  is  near 
the  sea.  The  targets  have  the  sea  for  a 
background,  and,  as  is  often  the  case  near 
the  sea,  we  have  a  great  deal  of  wind.  It 
was  quite  easy  to  understand  that  the 
wind  would  affect  the  course  of  the  bullet ; 
but  it  did  not  turn  out  to  be  so  easy  as 
it  appeared,  to  calculate  in  feet  and  inches 
how  much  allowance  should  be  made  for 
this  source  of  disturbance.  Fortunately 
1  'young  shots"  are  not  expected  to  be  able 
to  find  out  this  for  themselves  by  the 
long  and  painful  discipline  of  repeated 
failure ;  and  it  is  always  easy  for  them 
to  obtain  advice  from  persons  on  the  range 
who  have  had  more  experience  than  them- 
selves. I  was  very  fortunate  in  that  way 
myself,  and  feel  very  grateful  for  the  good 
instruction  I  have  received  from  several 
"  crack-shots," 


Rifle-Shooting.  1 6  5 

There  are  two  things  to  be  considered — 
the  elevation  and  windage. 

The  elevation  does  not  vary  so  much  as 
the  windage.  Having  once  found  the  nor- 
mal elevation  of  a  given  rifle  for  the 
different  ranges,  it  will  not  afterwards 
need  very  great  alterations.  But  the  differ- 
ent effects  of  wind,  light,  and  atmosphere 
upon  it  are  interesting,  and  require  care- 
ful attention. 

If  the  wind  is  blowing  straight  down 
the  range  from  the  targets,  it  will  natur- 
ally increase  the  resistance  for  the  bullet. 
Also,  by  retarding  its  speed  the  trajectory 
will  be  lowered,  thus  causing  the  shot  to 
strike  below  the  spot  aimed  at.  To  coun- 
teract this  the  aim  must  be  taken  higher, 
but  the  rifle  is  so  constructed  that  by  rais- 
ino-  the  slide  of  the  backsight  a  little,  aim 
may  be  taken  at  the  original  spot. 

When  the  wind  is  blowing  towards  the 
targets,  from  the  firing  point,  it  has  little 
or  no  effect  upon  the  bullet,  as  the  speed 
of  the  latter  is  so  much  greater  than  that 
of    the    wind.     A    side    wind    will    slightly 


1 66  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

alter   the  elevation   of  the  bullet,   in  a  ratio 
to  its  strength. 

Most  good  shots  agree  that  it  is  safer 
always  to  take  up  the  same  amount  of 
foresight  into  the  alignment ;  as  by 
taking  a  large  foresight  at  one  time  and 
a  small  one  at  another,  one  is  apt  to  get 
confused,  especially  when  other  matters 
have  to  be  considered  at  the  same  time. 
But  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  the 
different  degrees  of  the  light's  intensity 
have  a  marked  effect  upon  the  appearance 
of  the  foresight,  and  must  be  allowed  for. 
If  the  light  is  very  dull,  the  foresight 
will  not  be  very  distinctly  seen ;  and, 
unconsciously,  more  of  it  will  be  brought 
up.  This  has  the  effect  of  bringing  up 
the  muzzle  end  of  the  rifle,  and  of  giving 
the  bullet  a  higher  trajectory,  thus  causing 
the  shot  to  strike  high.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  the  light  is  bright  the 
foresight  is  easily  seen,  and  less  of  it 
is  unconsciously  taken  up,  so  causing 
the  shot  to  drop.  These  differences  in 
the    appearance    of    the    foresight    are    cor- 


Rifle-  Shooting.  167 

rected  by  raising  the  backsight  in  a  bright 
light,  and  lowering  it  when  dull. 

Mirage  and  refraction  are  very  trouble- 
some matters  to  deal  with,  for  the  bull's 
eye  appears  to  be  where  in  reality  it  is 
not.  And  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
ascertain  the  allowances  which  should  be 
made  for  this  source  of  error  without 
the  advantage  of  a  trial  shot. 

The  condition  of  the  atmosphere  as  to 
temperature  and  humidity  has  much  to 
do  with  the  fouling  inside  the  rifle.  In 
hot,  dry  weather  it  is  apt  to  get  hard 
and  dry.  After  a  few  shots  have  been 
fired,  it  cakes  and  fills  up  the  grooving 
of  the  rifle.  Consequently  the  amount  of 
the  spin  of  the  bullet  is  affected,  often 
causing  the  shots  to  drop,  and  spoiling 
all  chance  of  accurate  shooting.  This  can 
be  avoided  by  blowing  down  the  rifle 
after  each  shot,  when  the  moisture  of 
the  breath  will  greatly  improve  the  con- 
dition of  the  encrusted  barrel.  Many  rifle 
shots  have  indiarubber  tubes  for  this 
purpose,       and      blow      down      the      barrel 


168  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

through  them  from  the  breech  end. 
Some  competitors  even  take  more  trouble ; 
for,  after  each  shot,  they  shut  the  breech, 
and  get  up  from  their  position  in  order 
to  blow  down  from  the  muzzle  end. 
This  method  involves  more  exertion,  but 
it  is  evident  that  any  moisture  blown 
down  with  one  end  stopped,  and  thus 
permitted  to  accumulate,  must  of  necessity 
be  more  effective  in  cleansing  the  barrel. 

In  warm,  damp  weather,  the  fouling 
becomes  moist  and  greasy,  letting  the 
bullet  slip  through  easily.  These  differ- 
ences in  elevation  caused  through  foul- 
ing can  also  be  allowed  for  by  altering 
the  elevation  on  the  rifle  between  the 
shots. 

An  ingenious  little  instrument  called 
the  Vernier  is  used  for  measuring  the 
elevation.  When  it  is  considered,  that, 
at  600  yards  distance  from  the  targets, 
the  difference  of  Troth  of  an  inch  on  the 
backsight  will  be  equal  to  half  a  foot  on 
the  target,  it  will  evidently  be  of  the 
greatest    importance   to    be   able    to    adjust 


Rifle-  Shooting.  1 6  9 

the  sights  accordingly.  For  this  purpose 
Verniers  are  made  so  delicate  as  to  move 
the  backsight  through  such  a  small  space 
as  the  rioth  of  an  inch  at  a  time.  By 
this  means  of  adjustment,  should  a  shot 
strike  straight  above  the  bull's  eye,  you 
have  only  to  notice  the  exact  amount  of 
the  error  in  inches,  and  then  the  eleva- 
tion can  be  lowered  xioth  of  an  inch,  or 
a  "degree"  as  it  is  called  for  every  six 
inches  the  shot  is  above  the  mark ;  pro- 
vided always  that  the  other  conditions 
are  the  same  as  before. 

Theoretically,  wind  is  far  more  easy  to 
deal  with  than  elevation  ;  for,  if  the  wind 
blows  across  the  targets  from  the  left,  it 
would  naturally  drive  the  bullet  to  the 
right.  Therefore,  by  aiming  in  the  direc- 
tion the  wind  is  blowing  from,  proper 
allowance  can  be  made.  The  difficulty 
lies  in  the  practical  part,  i.e.,  of  judg- 
ing exactly  how  far  the  bullet  will  be 
driven  from  its  true  course.  Practice  is 
the  only  possible  teacher  in  this  matter ; 
and   it   is   wonderful    to   see    how    some   ex- 


1 70  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

perienced    shots   will   estimate   the    strength 
of    the    wind,    acting    only    on    their     own 
judgment,   and  succeed  in  hitting  the  bull's 
eye   at   first   shot,    and    especially   when   we 
learn    that    at    600    yards    as    much   as   fif- 
teen feet  of  windage  is  sometimes   required. 
But   at   times   there  seems   to    be   a    certain 
amount   of    chance    attached   to   the    ''find- 
ing   of    the     bull's     eye."       I    have     heard 
of    a     competitor     who     had     fired    several 
shots   and    could    not    find    the    bull's    eye. 
He     was     firing     in     a    competition     called 
"  Cartons,"    in    which    the    most   central   hit 
takes     the     highest     prize.        After     several 
unsuccessful  shots,    he   wished  to  alter   some 
part    of    his     rifle     and     for     this     purpose 
turned   it   upside    down.      In    doing    so    he 
accidently   pulled   the   trigger.     This    turned 
out     to    be    a    singular     instance     of    good 
luck,    for     the     shot     not     only    was     fired 
without      harming      anyone,      but      actually 
hit    the   very   centre   of  the    target !      This 
undesigned    shot    proved    to    be     the     best 
Carton   of  the    meeting,    bringing    the    com- 
petitor  a   prize    of  several   pounds.     I   have 


Rifle- Shooting.  1 7 1 

often  heard  it  said  on  the  range  that 
"  there  is  no  luck  in  shooting  except 
bad  luck ; "  and  it  certainly  is  very  dis- 
appointing to  lose  several  points  in  a 
competition  before  you  succeed  in  finding 
the  bull's  eye ;  but  it  is  still  more  dis- 
appointing, when,  having  found  it,  the 
wind  keeps  changing  its  force  or  direc- 
tion, and  so  increasing  your  perplexity. 
The  only  consolation  in  this  disagreeable 
experience  is,  that  a  great  deal  more  is 
]earnt  from  one  bad  score  under  these 
circumstances,  than  from  many  good  ones 
made  with  a  steady  wind. 

All  my  remarks  have  referred  to  target- 
shooting  only,  in  those  cases  where  com- 
petitors are  not  hurried,  but  can  take 
their  own  time  to  paint  their  sights  and 
adjust  them  with  "  machines,"  carefully 
marking  the  allowance  for  windage  on 
their  sights,  so  that  they  may  aim  at 
the  bull's  eye  every  time,  and  have  no 
more  to  think  of  but  holding  the  rifle 
steady.  I  use  all  these  helps  myself, 
finding    them    a    great    advantage ;     and    I 


172  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

believe  that  studying  all  these  minute 
but  necessary  particulars  is  a  good  train- 
ing for  those  who  may  have  to  use  their 
rifles  for  more  serious  purposes  than  com- 
peting for  prizes  at  rifle  meetings.  For, 
although  in  practical  shooting  they  will 
be  obliged  to  use  the  rifle  just  as  it  is 
served  out,  they  will  prove  themselves  to 
be  experienced  shots,  and  know  how  to 
handle  their  weapons  with  that  skill  which 
is  always  the  result  of  careful  training 
and  practice. 

Winifred   Louisa   Leale. 


DEER-STALKING  AND  DEER- 
DRIVING. 


DEER-STALKING  AND   DEER-DRIVING. 

By  Diane  Chasseresse. 

Deer-stalking  is  like  marriage,  it  should 
not  be  "  enterprised  nor  taken  in  hand  un- 
advisedly or  lightly,"  nor  should  it  be 
undertaken  by  those  who  are  weak  and 
delicate,  for  it  entails  many  hardships  and 
much  exposure  to  wet  and  cold. 

Imagine  the  state  of  a  thorough  -  bred 
racehorse,  if  it  were  kept  standing  for 
hours  in  a  snowstorm,  with  no  clothing  on, 
directly  after  it  had  run  a  race.  Yet,  a 
like  sudden  change  from  violent  exercise 
taken  in  great  heat,  to  hours  of  immov- 
ability in  the  most  bitter  cold,  is  of  constant 
occurrence  when  stalking  deer  in  the  late 
autumn,  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 
For  instance,  the  stalker  may  have  to 
toil  with  wearied  feet  up  a  steep  hill, 
under  the  burning  rays  of  an  October 
sun,     when,     suddenly      and     unexpectedly, 

175 


176  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

some  deer  will  come  in  sight,  hurry- 
ing over  the  ridge  in  front  of  him 
to  seek  for  shelter  from  an  impend- 
ing storm.  Ketreat  is  impossible,  there 
is  no  time  even  to  choose  a  hiding- 
place;  the  stalker  must  throw  himself  face 
downwards,  most  likely  in  the  middle  of 
a  bog,  and  remain  there  without  moving 
hand  or  foot  as  long  as  the  storm  lasts  and 
the  deer  remain  in  sight.  In  the  meantime 
the  sun  has  vanished,  and  the  day  has 
changed  from  broiling  heat  to  piercing  cold ; 
and,  while  the  wind  gets  up  and  the  hail 
beats  pitilessly  on  his  prostrate  form,  the 
stalker  must  be  ready,  with  numbed  and 
aching  finger  to  pull  the  trigger  of  his  rifle, 
the  moment  the  darkness  has  lifted  suffi- 
ciently, for  him  to  make  out  which  are  the 
largest  and  most  shootable  deer. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  deer-stalking 
is  not  all  pleasurable  excitement,  and  that 
those  who  go  after  deer  must  be  prepared 
to  endure  a  certain  amount  of  physical  dis- 
comfort. Pipes  cannot  be  smoked,  nor  can 
whisky  be  imbibed  within  sight  and  within 


Deer- Stalking  and  Deer- Driving.      1 7  7 

shot  of  deer ;  neither  can  sandwiches  be 
munched,  nor  may  you  even  take  a  drink  at 
a  burn.  The  soul  of  the  sportsman  must 
soar  above  hunger  and  thirst — such  luxuries 
as  two  o'clock  lunch  and  five  o'clock  tea 
are  not  for  him— even  the  simple  use  of  a 
pocket-handkerchief  is  denied  him  under 
certain  circumstauces. 

The  paraphernalia  needed  by  the  stalker 
is  very  limited  in  extent.  It  consists  of  a 
rifle,  a  dozen  cartridges,  a  telescope,  and  a 
long  knife.  Stout,  easy-fitting  nailed  boots 
are  de  rigueur  for  walking ;  also  thick 
stockings — not  necessarily  rough  or  irritating 
to  the  skin — and  neutral  -  coloured  clothes, 
light  in  weight.  Nothing  else  is  essential. 
I  have  given  elsewhere  a  detailed  description 
of  the  dress  I  myself  found  most  suitable 
for  the  hills,  so  I  will  only  repeat  here 
that  it  should  be  of  either  drab  or  grey 
cloth — water-proof,  but  not  air-proof — with 
a  dash  of  pink,  green,  or  orange  in  it 
according  to  the  prevailing  colour  of  the 
ground  over  which  you  have  to  stalk.  A 
long    grey    macintosh    of    the    best    quality 

M 


178  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

can  be  carried  in  the  forester's  pocket  and 
put  on  during  heavy  storms.  This  should 
have  a  separate  hood,  which  may  be  used 
either  to  sit  on,  or  as  a  protection  to  the 
head  and  neck  from  rain  and  wind. 

The  fewer  people  the  stalker  has  to  accom- 
pany him  the  more  likely  he  is  to  get  sport. 
One  man  to  carry  the  rifle,  or  stalk  for  him, 
is  sufficient.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to 
have  a  second  forester  with  dogs,  as  they 
only  disturb  the  deer  and  are  seldom 
required. 

Foresters,  whether  from  an  imperfect 
knowledge  of  English  or  from  "  thinking 
the  more,"  are  usually  a  silent  and  uncom- 
municative race.  The  sort  of  way  an 
ignorant — or  supposed  to  be  ignorant — 
sportsman  is  treated  when  sent  out  with 
an  experienced  stalker  for  the  first  time, 
is  much  after  this  fashion. 

The  forester  shoulders  the  rifle  and  goes 
up  the  side  of  a  hill  with  quick,  elastic  step, 
and  you  follow  with  aching  muscles  and 
panting  breath.  At  last  there  is  a  halt, 
and  he   takes  out  his  glass  and  looks  care- 


Deer-Stalking  and  Deer-Driving.      1 79 

fully  over  the  ground,  first  searching  the 
places  where  deer  are  usually  to  be  dis- 
covered, then  scanning  the  rest  of  the  vast 
expanse  of  hill  and  valley  spread  out  before 
him.  You,  also,  take  out  your  glass  and 
strain  your  unaccustomed  eye  in  lookino- 
for  deer.  After  a  time  you  find  some,  and 
wonder  if  by  chance  they  have  escaped  the 
keen  eye  of  the  forester,  for  he  has  shut  his 
telescope,  and  is  silently  descending  the  hill 
again. 

"  Sandy  !  "    you  call  out. 

"  Surr — mem  ?  "    correcting   himself  as  he 
remembers  your  sex. 

"  Did  you  see  those  deer  ?  " 

"  Hwhich  deer  was  it  ?  " 

"There    are   some    deer    feeding    on    that 
green  patch,  didn't  you  see  them  ?  " 

"  Ou— ay." 

"  But  wouldn't  they  do  to  go  after  ? 

"  They're  no  verra  bug,  but  I'm  thunkin 
one  of  them  micht  do,"  and  Sandy  moves 
on  ao-ain. 

"  But,  Sandy !  " 

"  Suit — mem  !  " 


180  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

"  Why  can't  we  go  after  the  one  that 
might  do  f  " 

"  We'll  require  to  go  round  a  bittee  and 
come  doon  on  them." 

To  "  go  round  a  bittee '  you  find  to 
your  cost  means  to  go  right  back  to  the 
bottom  of  the  hill  whence  you  came,  to 
tramp  miles  round  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
and  finally  to  climb  up  over  the  top  so  as 
to  come  down  on  the  deer.  On  the  way 
you  come  across  some  small  staggies  which 
decline  to  move,  being  quite  well  aware  that 
they  are  not  worth  shooting.  Fearing  they 
will  spoil  all  your  sport  by  moving  the  other 
deer,  Sandy  lies  still  and  taps  two  stones 
together  to  frighten  them  a  little,  but  they 
still  refuse  to  go  away  and  only  stare 
stupidly  at   you. 

"Ye'll  jist  wave  yer  hwhite  mop,"  whispers 
Sandy. 

You  wonder  what  he  means,  as  you 
do  not  generally  carry  mops  about  the 
hills.  Then  Sandy,  seeing  your  bewilder- 
ment, makes  a  gesture  with  his  hands 
over  his    face    in    the  most  solemn    manner, 


Deer-Stalking  and  Deer-Driving.      1 8 1 
and    you    are    reminded     of    the    children's 


game  :- 


"  I  wipe  my  face  with  a  very  good  grace, 
Without  either  laughing  or  smiling." 

and  produce  your  white  pocket-handkerchief 
— which  certainly,  there  is  no  denying,  has 
been  used  as  a  mop  pretty  often  on  the 
way  up — and  waving  it  at  the  deer,  have  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  them  trot  away  in  a 
direction  where  they  will  do  no  harm. 

After  that  Sandy  says  nothing  more, 
but  goes  trudging  on  ahead  till  he  stops  to 
take  the  rifle  out  of  its  case  and  load  it. 
Then  he  begins  to  crawl  very  slowly  and 
cautiously,  taking  care  not  to  scrape  the 
heather,  or  knock  the  stones,  and  you  do 
exactly  the  same  till  you  join  him  behind 
a  big  boulder  ;  when  he  puts  the  rifle  in 
your  hand,  saying  in  a  whisper, — 

"Noo  then,  yell  tak  yon  beast  that's 
feeding  to  the  west." 

And  you  look  up  excitedly,  not  knowing 
in  the  very  least  the  whereabouts  of  the 
deer ;    but   while   you    are    trying    to    make 


1 82  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

out  which  is  the  "beast  that  is  feeding  to 
the  west/'  a  greater  beast  that  is  feeding 
to  the  east,  in  the  shape  of  a  hind,  has 
already  made  you  out,  and  the  whole  herd 
of  deer  have  galloped  away  without  giv- 
ing you  the  chance  of  a  shot.  You  turn  and 
look  blankly  at  Sandy,  and  Sandy  looks  dis- 
gustedly at  you,  and  behind  your  back 
he  exclaims,  that  you  "jist  mak'  him 
seeck." 

Little  of  the  science  of  deer-stalking  can 
be  learnt  from  following  blindly  behind  a 
silent  forester ;  though  no  doubt  a  novice 
would     get     more     deer     and     disturb    less 

o 

ground  by  putting  himself  entirely  into 
the  hands  of  a  first-rate  stalker  than  by 
attempting  to  go  his  own  way,  and  acquir- 
ing experience  at  the  expense  of  repeated 
failure. 

The  two  great  difficulties  with  which 
the  amateur  has  to  contend  are,  the  wrong 
impression  given  by  the  appearance  of 
ground  when  seen  from  a  distance,  and 
the  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  direction 
from   which    the   wind  will    blow    when    he 


Deer-Stalking  and  Deer- Driving.      1 83 

gets  within  reach  of  deer.  The  other  diffi- 
culties,  such  as  keeping  out  of  sight  of  the 
deer  he  wishes  to  shoot,  and  avoiding  other 
deer  or  sheep,  can  be  overcome,  with  practice, 
by  any  intelligent  person  ;  but  to  know 
the  direction  in  which  certain  winds  will 
blow  in  certain  places,  is  a  constant  puzzle 
even  to  the  oldest  and  most  experienced 
sportsman. 

If  a  valley  lies  east  and  west,  and  the 
wind  blows  east  or  west,  you  can  generally 
count  on  being  able  to  stalk  wp-wind.  But 
should  the  wind  be  north  in  a  valley  lying 
east  and  west,  it  will  constantly  blow 
south  on  the  southern  side  of  a  northern 
mountain,  or  it  might  blow  east  or  west. 
There  is  only  one  manner  of  ascertaining 
the  direction  of  a  light  and  doubtful  breeze, 
and  that  is  by  continually  plucking  little 
bits  of  the  fluff  off  your  homespun  coat, 
and   allowing   them   to   float    about    in    the 

air. 

Deer  are  far  more  frightened  at  getting 
the  wind  of  a  human  being  than  they 
are  at  seeing  him  ;    consequently    they   will 


184  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

gallop  away  faster,  and  run  to  a  much 
greater  distance  after  scenting  a  person 
than  they  will  after  seeing  him.  They  are 
also  far  more  frightened  at  sight  of  a  man 
walking  upright  at  a  considerable  distance, 
than  at  seeing  one  crouched  up  and  immovable 
quite  near  them — though  in  the  latter  case  he 
may  be  so  close  that  his  face,  hands,  and 
even  the  rifle  are  discernible. 

When  a  seal  is  doubtful  about  anything 
floating  on  the  water,  it  will  take  a  long 
circuit  round,  and  keep  out  of  shot  until  it 
has  got  to  windward  of  the  suspicious  object. 
Once  to  windward  all  doubt  is  at  an 
end,  and,  if  the  object  should  prove  to  be 
an  enemy,  the  seal  will  immediately  dis- 
appear under  water.  But,  fortunately  for 
sportsman,  deer  are  not  clever  enough  to 
adopt  this  plan,  or  we  should  find  stalking 
even  more  difficult  than  it  is  now.  For 
if  deer  catch  sight  of  a  suspicious-looking 
object,  the  hinds  generally  come  a  step  or 
two  nearer  to  it,  instead  of  going  round  to 
get  the  wind,  and  when  they  have  quite 
decided   that   it    looks    like    something    un- 


Dccr-Stalking  and  Deer- Driving.      185 

canny,  they  will  go  off  with  a  bark,  occa- 
sionally stopping  to  look  back.  In  the 
meantime  the  stags  will  be  preparing  to 
rise,  so  you  must  be  ready  to  seize  your  chance 
of  a  broadside  shot — for  a  stag  lying  with 
face  towards  you,  wTill  generally,  on  ris- 
ing, turn  his  body  broadside  before  bolting 
away.  Should  the  deer,  however,  get  a 
puff  of  your  wind,  it  is  of  no  use  to  wait ; 
you  must  either  take  a  snap-shot  at  their 
retreating  heels,  or  refrain  from  firing  at 
all,  and  trust  to  getting  another  stalk  when 
they  have  settled  down  again  later  in  the  day. 
You  can  never,  under  any  circumstances, 
take  a  liberty  with  the  wind  ;  but,  on  wet 
and  stormy  days,  it  is  extraordinary  how  you 
may  crawl  about  in  full  view  of  deer  with- 
out frightening  them,  so  long  as  they  do  not 
happen  to  be  looking  at  you  while  you  are 
actually  moving.  To  begin  with,  the  wet 
deadens  any  sound  you  may  make  in  crawl- 
ing ;  ferns  do  not  crackle,  nor  does  the  grass 
rustle,  and,  as  there  is  no  light  and  shade, 
objects  are  less  distinctly  seen.  But  a  sky 
line  must  always  be   avoided   when  possible, 


1 86  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

or,  if  not,  it  should  be  crossed  with  the  utmost 
care  by  keeping  flat  and  moving  slowly  ;  as 
deer  are  quick  to  note  any  strange  excrescence 
on  the  edge  of  a  hill. 

There  are  only  two  really  important  things 
to  avoid  when  out  stalking.  One  is  the 
unnecessary  disturbance  of  deer  by  firing 
shots  late  at  night,  or  by  careless  stalking — 
both  of  which  will  send  them  off  the  ground 
you  are  on,  and  over  to  that  of  your  neigh- 
bour— and  the  other  is  shooting  at  deer  when 
the  chances  are  more  in  favour  of  wounding 
them  than  of  killing  them  outright. 

Sport  is  sometimes  cruel — though  never  so 
cruel  as  nature,  as  any  observer  can  bear 
witness — but  that  is  no  reason  why  sportsmen 
should  be  careless  about  giving  unnecessary 
pain. 

There  are  so  many  different  sorts  of  rifles 
turned  out  by  the  various  gunmakers,  that 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say  which  kind  is  the 
best.  I  have  not  had  a  large  experience,  but, 
having  tried  a  single-barrelled  Henry — with 
which  I  regularly  missed — a  double-barrelled 
Lankaster,  and  a  Purdey,  besides  the  various 


Dccr-Stalking  and  Deer-Driving.     187 

kinds  of  small  rifles  made  by  Rigby,  Adams, 
and  Holland,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
the  best  shots  I  ever  made  were  at  running 
deer  with  an  old-fashioned  muzzle-loader,  with 
solid  conical  bullets ! 

One  of  the  great  charms  of  deer-stalking, 
besides  the  delightful  feeling  of  being  out  all 
day  long  in  the  fresh  air  surrounded  by  the 
most  beautiful  scenery,  is,  that  there  is  so 
much  variety  in  it,  as  no  two  stalks  are  ever 
in  the  least  alike.  One  might  go  season 
after  season  over  the  same  ground,  but  it 
would  be  impossible  to  shoot  two  deer  under 
precisely  similar  conditions. 

A  beginner  can  scarcely  understand  the 
fascination  which  deer-stalking  exercises  over 
a  more  practised  sportsman.  When  a  novice 
is  taken  out,  the  stalker  is  naturally  anxious 
to  give  him  every  chance,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  is  not  over-particular  about  the  size  of 
the  deer — which  may  possibly  be  missed ;  so 
he  generally  manages  to  bring  him  up  to 
within  easy  distance  of  a  single  stag,  standing 
broadside.  The  novice  knows  nothing  of 
the  intricacies  of  the  stalk,  or  of  the  difficulties 


1 88  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

which  have  been  overcome.  He  has,  per- 
haps, been  taken  up  one  deep  burn,  and 
brought  down  another  on  the  same  hillside, 
possibly  without  having  had  any  climbing, 
crawling,  or  wading  to  do  ;  after  which  he  is 
told  to  look  between  some  tufts  of  heather 
over  the  edge  of  a  bank,  when  he  will  see  the 
stag  feeding  just  below.  He  then  raises  up 
the  loaded  rifle,  and,  feeling  rather  as  though 
he  were  going  to  shoot  at  a  red  cow,  calmly 
takes  a  deliberate  aim,  with  his  elbows  resting 
on  the  bank,  and  hits  the  beast  right  through 
the  heart.  The  whole  business  has  appeared 
so  easy  that  he  cannot  understand  the  ex- 
citement of  the  stalker  over  it ;  and  he  feels 
rather  ashamed  than  otherwise  of  the  fuss 
that  is  made  about  him  on  his  return 
home.  But,  the  next  time  he  goes  out,  he 
may  have  to  shoot  immediately  after  a  stiff 
climb  uphill ;  the  deer  is  further  off  than  he 
thinks,  and  is  very  much  the  same  colour  as 
the  ground ;  he  is  out  of  breath,  and  more 
careless  about  his  aim,  and  the  consequence 
is  that  he  misses  it  clean,  and  fires  the  second 
barrel  with  no  better  result.     After  this,  the 


Deer -Stalking  and  Deer- Driving.      189 

novice  begins  to  see  that  it  is  not  alto- 
gether  so  tame  and  easy  a  business  as  it 
appeared  at  first ;  and,  when  next  he  gets 
a  chance  at  a  stag,  his  heart  will  commence 
to  beat,  he  will  feel  nervous  about  his 
aim,  his  knees  will  tremble  and  his  hand 
shake,  and  he  will  at  last  feel  that  there 
is  some  excitement  about  deer-stalking  after 
all. 

Deer-driviug  is  by  no  means  such  good 
sport  as  deer  -  stalking.  When  deer  are 
driven,  if  they  go  the  way  that  is  intended 
— which  depends  chiefly  on  the  weather  and 
not  at  all  on  the  skill  of  the  sportsmen — all 
that  is  necessary  to  obtain  a  large  number 
of  stags  is  to  keep  a  cool  head,  and  to  take 
a  steady  aim.  But  these  qualifications  are 
usually  just  those  which  are  conspicuous  by 
their  absence  at  the  generality  of  deer  drives ; 
consequently,  the  number  of  shots  that  are 
fired  at  deer — all  within  easy  distance — in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  deer  slain  or 
wounded,  is  quite  remarkable. 

I  have  often  wondered  how  soldiers  behave 
on  a  fie]d  of  battle,  where  there  is  danger  to 


190  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

life  and  limb,  added  to  the  noise,  smoke, 
bustle  and  excitement.  Do  they  ever  hit  a 
man  at  all  except  by  accident?  And  is  it 
likely  that  the  time,  ammunition  and  money 
annually  wasted  on  firing  at  a  mark  will 
teach  men  not  to  lose  their  heads  on  a 
field  of  battle,  with  the  enemy  advancing 
towards  them,  when  they  cannot  even 
keep  cool  at  a  deer  drive,  where  there  is 
absolute  silence  and  stillness,  and  the 
deer  are  often  too  frightened  and  bewil- 
dered to  do  more  than  stand  still  to  be 
shot  at  ! 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  keep  a 
record  of  the  number  of  drives  which  come 
off  properly,  compared  with  those  which  are 
failures ;  and  of  the  number  of  shots  fired  at 
each  drive,  in  proportion  to  every  deer  killed. 
I  also  fancy  it  would  improve  the  sport  in  a 
forest  far  more  if  a  record  were  kept  of  all 
the  misses  which  were  made  out  stalking, 
than  if  a  high  average  of  weights  were  in- 
sisted on,  as  this  can  only  be  accomplished 
by  sparing  the  old  deer,  which,  being  past 
their  prime   and   deteriorating  every  season, 


Deer-Stalking  and  Deer-Driving.      1 9 1 

should  certainly  be  killed  at  the  expense  of 
the  average. 

Deer-driving,  more  than  any  other  kind 
of  sport,  depends  on  weather.  When  out 
stalking  one  generally  succeeds  in  getting 
more  deer  on  a  stormy  than  on  a  fine  day, 
but  with  driving  it  is  just  the  reverse.  The 
day  cannot  be  too  fine,  as  the  mist  and 
rain,  which  so  constantly  accumulate  about 
high  mountains,  are  the  chief  reasons  why 
drives  are  such  frequent  failures. 

The  way  a  drive  is  arranged  is  as  follows. 
Every  available  stalker,  forester  and  gillie  is 
sent  out  before  daylight  to  make  an  immense 
circle  round  the  corries  and  mountains  from 
which  the  deer  are  to  be  driven.  Unfor- 
tunately the  mist  usually  comes  low  down  in 
the  night,  and  the  men  cannot  possibly  tell, 
when  they  make  their  early  start,  whether 
it  will  lift  or  not. 

Deer  have  certain  passes  which  they  use 
when  going  from  one  corrie  to  another,  and, 
if  they  are  disturbed,  they  make  for  one  of 
these  passes  wp-wind.  But  when  everything 
has  been   settled,   the  guns  are  placed  in   a 


192  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

pass  which  is  doivn  wind  to  the  deer,  and 
out  of  sight  of  the  corrie,  into  which  they 
are  being  collected  by  the  beaters. 

It  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  force  deer 
to  go  down-wind,  as  it  is  against;  all  their 
instincts  to  do  so,  and,  if  they  have  had 
much  experience,  they  will  be  perfectly 
aware  that  men  with  rifles  are  awaiting 
them  on  the  ridge,  and,  instead  of  going 
forward  over  the  pass,  they  will  break  back 
at  the  last  minute  and  rush  through  the 
beaters — who  can  only  pelt  them  with  sticks 
and  stones — rather  than  face  the  known 
danger  of  the  o;uns  in  front  of  them. 

In  a  deer  drive  it  is  necessary  for  the 
day  to  be  clear,  in  order  that  the  beaters 
may  see  each  other  as  well  as  the  deer.  It 
is  equally  important  that  the  deer  should 
see  the  beaters,  as  these  latter  are  placed 
as  stops  to  prevent  them  going  to  the 
passes  up- wind  where  there  are  no  guns. 
If  the  deer  are  quite  determined  not  to  go 
down-wind  over  a  pass,  nothing  that  the 
beaters  can  do  to  force  them  will  make  any 
difference,    and    the    drive    is    consequently 


Deer-Stalking  and  Deer-Driving.      19 


-> 


spoilt.  If  the  wind  changes,  or  does  not 
blow  fair,  the  guns  know  at  once  that  their 
chance  of  sport  is  over,  for  deer  would 
rather  face  an  army  which  they  can  see,  than 
a  puff  of  wind  from  an  unknown  foe. 

Shooting  at  driven  deer  is  much  less 
fatiguing  than  stalking.  The  drive  is  fixed 
to  come  off  at  a  certain  hour,  and  the 
sportsmen  ride  ponies  or  wTalk  to  their  posts, 
each  carrying  his  own  rifles — as  the  foresters 
are  all  employed  in  heating.  The  ponies 
are  then  left  in  charge  of  some  boys,  and 
each  man  is  allotted  a  post  in  which  he  can 
make  himself  comfortable,  put  on  his  cloak 
and  eat  his  lunch  ;  pipes  also  are  not  for- 
bidden for  a  while.  But,  after  a  bit,  he 
must,  on  no  account,  move  or  leave  his  place, 
even  if  there  is  snow  on  the  ground  and  he 
is  perished  with  cold,  for  it  is  very  possible 
that  a  few  deer,  not  belonging  to  the  drive, 
might  be  feeding  just  below  the  ridge  of  the 
hill,  and,  seeing  other  deer  disturbed  and 
coming  towards  them,  they  would  probably 
feed  quietly  over  the  pass  close  to  all  the 
guns.       If    they  were   to  see  anyone    move, 

N 


194  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

they  would  at  once  bolt  back  whence  they 
came,  and  every  deer  in  sight  would  know 
that  they  were  fleeing  from  danger,  and 
would  refuse  to  come  up  the  pass.  But  if 
they  were  allowed  to  move  quietly  on  till 
all  the  guns  were  passed,  they  would  soon 
disappear,  and  their  fresh  tracks  would  be  of 
use  in  keeping  the  deer  which  followed  from 
being  suspicious  of  any  lurking  danger. 

The  first  deer  to  appear  over  a  pass  are 
usually  a  hind  and  calf;  and  hearts  begin  to 
beat  furiously  as,  after  many  hours  of  wait- 
ing, they  walk  slowly  past  the  line  of  guns, 
pricking  their  long  ears  forward  and  staring 
right  and  left  suspiciously.  Suddenly  the 
hind  gives  a  start — she  has  come  across  a 
footprint ;  she  sniffs  at  it,  quickens  her  pace, 
and  trots  awray  with  her  little  calf  beside  her. 
All  at  once  she  gets  a  puff  of  the  wind  and 
away  she  goes — bark,  bark,  bark — but  as 
there  are  no  other  deer  in  sight  she  can  do 
no  harm.  Then  some  more  hinds  come  on, 
followed  by  a  few  small  staggies,  and  the 
excitement  among  the  guns  becomes  intense 
as  they  know  now  that  the  drive  has  begun. 


Deer-Stalking  and  Deer -Driving.      1 95 

As  the  first  deer  get  the  wind  and  begin  to 
gallop,   a    grand    Eoyal    appears.     He   passes 
most  of  the  rifles  scathless — for   there  is  no 
greater  crime  than  to  fire  at  one  of  the  first 
few  deer  and  so    turn  all    the  others  back — 
but  the  last  gun,  seeing;  that  there  are  now 
plenty  of  good  stags  over  the  brae,  lets  fly  at 
him  and  may  bowl  him  over  (this  is  purely 
imaginary,  for  my  experience  is  that  he  does 
not  bowl  him  over),  then  crack,  crack,  go  the 
other  rifles  as  barrel  after  barrel  is  fired — two 
or  three  rifles  to  each  man,  and  two  barrels  to 
each  rifle — and  the  fat  and  heavy  deer  come 
panting    by,    bewildered     by    the    incessant 
firing   and    the  whizz    of  the    bullets   about 
their   ears,  driven    forward  by  the  shouts  of 
the  beaters  behind,  who  are  pressing  them  on 
to  their  death,  and  terrified  when  some  mag- 
nificent  beast  makes  a  plunge  forward  on  re- 
ceiving its  death-wound,  and  tears  up  the  soft 
ground  with    its    hoofs   as  it   rolls    over  and 
over,    its    thick   horns   crashing   against    the 
rocks.     Then   the   last   and    heaviest   of    the 
deer   come    rushing   down  the  pass   followed 
by  the  beaters,  capless  and  perspiring.     The 


196  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

ground  is  strewn  with  dead  and  dying,  the 
sportsmen  leave  their  posts  and  each  claims 
his  deer  (many  more  claims  being  made  for 
the  large  than  for  the  small  ones) ;  the  dogs 
are  let  loose  after  the  wounded,  and  thus  the 
most  successful  drive  of  the  season  comes  to 
an  end. 

The  ponies  which  have  conveyed  the  sports- 
men up  the  mountain  now  come  in  useful  to 
carry  home  the  dead  beasts ;  and,  in  the 
evening,  after  dinner,  the  ladies,  in  their 
dainty  dresses  and  flashing  diamonds,  come 
out  across  the  yard  to  inspect  the  trophies  of 
the  chase  which  are  laid  out  on  the  ground 
in  front  of  the  larder ;  while  the  weird  and 
fantastic  scene  is  lighted  up  by  blazing 
torches  held  aloft  by  kilted  Highlanders. 

Diane  Chasseeesse. 


SHOOTING. 


SHOOTING. 

By  Lady  Boynton. 

11  The  reason  firm,  the  temperate  will, 
Endurance,  foresight,  strength,  and  skill." 

"  A  mingled  yarn — good  and  ill  together." 

A  few  years  ago  a  "  shooting-lady "  was  al- 
most as  much  a  vara  avis  as  the  Great  Auk ; 
if  here  and  there  one  member  of  the  sex,  more 
venturesome    than    her    fellows,    were    bold 
enough  to  take  to  the  gun  in  preference  to 
the   knitting    needle,    she    was    looked    upon 
as    most  eccentric    and    fast,    and  underwent 
much  adverse  criticism.     Now,  however,  nous 
avons  change  tout   cela.     Ladies  who  shoot, 
and     who     shoot    well,    too,    are    springing 
up    on    all   sides,    and    the    clamour    raised 
by   their   appearance   is   gradually  subsiding. 
There   are    still    dissentient   voices    here    and 
there,  it  is  true,  voices  which  proclaim  aloud 

that    women    have   no   place   in   the   covert 

199 


200  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

and  among  the  turnips,  and  that  the  cruelty 
of  the  sport  should  be  an  insuperable  objec- 
tion to  their  joiniug  in  it.  A  discussion  of 
all  these  pros  and  cons  is,  however,  outside 
the  scope  of  these  notes,  we  have  simply  to 
deal  with  facts  as  they  stand,  and,  undoubt- 
edly, the  "shooting-lady'  is  now  as  much 
an  established  fact  as  is  her  sister  the 
"  hunting-woman." 

That  a  woman  who  is  fond  of  sport  need 
lose  nothing  in  grace,  charm,  or  refinement, 
we  have  ample  evidence  to  show.  She  does 
not  necessarily  become  masculine  either  in 
manner  or  conversation ;  but  she  should, 
nevertheless,  endeavour  to  master  the  rudi- 
ments of  whatever  sport  she  engages  in  ; 
and  it  is  with  the  hope  of  assisting  some 
of  my  fellow  -  sportswomen  to  accomplish 
this,  that  I  here  record  some  of  my  experi- 
ences, not  omitting  my  mistakes,  and  adding 
a  few  hints  to  beginners;  though  I  regret 
that  I  have  no  moving  accidents  by  flood 
or  field,  nor  "  hairbreadth  'scapes  "  to  recount ! 

There   is  certainly   a   pleasant   amount   of 
excitement    about     shooting  —  not     perhaps 


Shooting.  20 1 

equal  to  that  afforded  by  "  forty  minutes  with- 
out a  check,"  but  quite  enough  to  make 
one  willing  to  brave  the  elements,  even  on 
a  raw  November  morning,  and  to  stand  with 
one's  finders  aching  with  cold  behind  a  fence 
waiting  for  the  advent  of  that  little  brown 
bird  who  will  flash  past  you  like  a  meteor — 
alas  !  too  frequently  only  to  leave  a  feather 
or  two  floating  behind  him,  and  then  to 
continue  his  course  rejoicing  ! 

I  well  remember  the  first  running;  rabbit  I 
ever    killed.       I    was    armed   with    an    old- 
fashioned    muzzle  loader — we    were    walking 
round    the     hedgerows    in     some     pastures. 
The      rabbit     was     sitting     in     a     tussock 
about     thirty    yards    from     the     fence.        I 
cautiously    advanced    in    such    a    manner    as 
to  get  a  crossing  shot.     The  rabbit  was  put 
up,    and    I,    taking   a    very    deliberate    aim, 
had   the   intense   satisfaction    of  seeing    him 
double    up    just    as    he    reached   the    fence ! 
What  a  moment!     No  'Royal'  killed  at  140 
yards  could  have  afforded  more  delight  than 
did  that  wretched  little  bunny. 

Of  course,  previously  to   this,   I   had  fired 


202  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

at  a  mark  and  at  sitting  objects,  in  order  to 
get  into  the  way  of  handling  the  gun,  aim- 
ing and  so  forth. 

It  is  of  the  first  and  greatest  importance 
on  beginning  to  shoot  to  learn  to  be  care- 
ful, and  the  golden  rule  is,  always  to 
handle  a  gun  as  though  it  were  loaded 
and  cocked ;  the  habit  once  acquired,  it  is 
just  as  easy  to  carry  a  gun  safely  as  not. 

Coolness  and  confidence  are  equally  neces- 
sary—  but    practice    alone   will   bring    these. 
A   beginner   is   apt  to  be  flurried  when  the 
game  gets  up  ;  she  sees  nothing  else,  thinks 
of  nothing    else   but    killing    it,    and    takes 
no   account   of   the    beaters,    guns,    or    dogs 
surrounding   her.       She    points   the   gun    at 
the   bird    or    beast,    and    perchance    (horrid 
thought !)    follows  it  all  round   the  compass 
with  her  finger  on  the  trigger !      Wherefore 
it   is    better    she   should    not   take   the  field 
with   other   guns  (unless  she  wishes  to  make 
enemies    of  her   best    friends),  until   she  has 
full    command    over    the    gun    and    can    put 
it  up  easily  and  quickly.     If  the  game  gets 
up    too    near,    she    must    wait    till    it    has 


Shooting.  203 

reached  the  proper  distance,  then  raise  the 
£im  to  her  shoulder  and  fire  at  once. 
This  is  the  only  way  to  become  a  quick 
and  steady  shot. 

Apropos  of  following  ;  once  when  grouse- 
driving  I  was  placed  in  a  butt  between  two 
other    guns,    both  of  them  strangers  to  me. 
They  looked   very  much  askance  at  me,  and 
I  fancy  one  of  them  thanked  his  stars  he'd 
insured    his    life    the     w^eek     before !       The 
one   in    the    left-hand   butt   at   once    moved 
both  his  " guards"  on  to  the  side  of  the  butt 
next  me.     Soon  three  birds,  the  forerunners 
of  the  army  to   follow,    came   over   between 
my    right-hand    neighbour   and   me,     two  of 
them    making    straight    for    his    butt.       To 
my    surprise    he    did    not   fire.       The    third 
bird  I  hit  with  my  first  barrel,   and  seeing 
as   it    passed  me  that  it  had  a  leg  down,  I 
turned  round  and  killed  it  going  away  from 
me   with  the    left    barrel.      After    the    drive 
was  over  I  asked   him  why  he   hadn't  shot. 
"To   tell   you    the   truth,"    he    said,    "I   was 
watching    you.       I    was   a   little    anxious  to 
see  if  you  would  follow  that  bird,  but  after 


204  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

that,  I  saw  you  were  all  right!'  My  left- 
hand  warrior  confessed,  later  on,  that  he 
had  been  peppered  by  the  gun  on  the  other 
side  of  him  !     Whereat  I  chuckled  ! 

As  to  the  gun  used,  everybody  must 
please  themselves.  I  shoot  with  a  20 -bore, 
the  left  barrel  slightly  choked,  weight  5  lbs., 
and  loaded  with  2J  drachms  black  powder, 
f  oz.  No.  6  shot.  For  covert  shooting, 
E.  C.  or  Schulze  is  better,  it  is  quicker  up 
to  the  game  and  almost  smokeless. 

A  16-bore  makes  killing  easier,  but  the 
extra  weight,  at  the  end  of  a  long  day, 
counterbalances  this  advantage.  I  shot  with 
a  28-bore  belonging  to  a  friend  one  day 
last  winter,  and  was  perfectly  astonished 
at  the  way  and  the  distance  it  killed,  but 
you  have  to  be  very  dead  on  to  make 
good  practice  with  so  small  a  bore.  A  gun 
to  fit  you  should  come  up  to  the  shoulder 
quite  easily,  and,  without  any  adjusting 
you  must  bring  the  sight  straight  on  to  the 
object.  If  you  see  all  down  the  barrel,  the 
stock  is  too  straight,  if,  on  the  contrary,  you 
see  nothing  but  the  breech,    it  is  too  much 


Shooting.  205 


v> 


bent  and  you  will  shoot  under  everything. 
But  I  would  advise  the  beginner  to  go  to 
the  "  Worth "  of  London  gunmakers  (Mr 
Purdey),  put  herself  in  his  hands,  and, 
like  the  sartorial  genius  of  Paris,  he  will  turn 
her  out  fitted  to  perfection.  An  indiarubber 
heel-plate  is  sometimes  a  wise  precaution, 
to  avoid  a  bruised  shoulder  and  arm,  which 
if  you  happen  to  be  going  to  a  ball,  does  not 
perhaps  add  to  your  beauty  ! 

The  left  hand  should  be  held  well  forward. 
This  gives  much  more  power  over  the  gun, 
it  also  looks  much  better.  With  regard  to 
the  position  of  the  feet,  it  is  well  to  recollect 
that  elegance  is  compatible  with  ease  ! 

It  is  a  matter  of  some  difficulty,  at  first,  to 
judge  distance  correctly.  The  novice  gener- 
ally begins  by  blowing  her  game  to  bits,  to 
make  sure  of  killing  it,  I  suppose,  though  in 
reality  this  makes  it  far  harder.  The  other 
extreme,  firing  very  long  shots,  is  equally  re- 
prehensible, as  nine  times  out  of  ten  the  game 
goes  away  wTounded,  even  when  occasionally  it 
is  dropped  by  a  fluke.  Any  distance  between 
twenty  and  forty  yards  is  legitimate,  though  the 


206  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

latter  is  rather  far  for  a  hare  going  away  from 
you. 

Never  hand  the  gun  cocked  to  an  attendant, 
and  always  unload  when  getting  over  a  fence, 
and  on  putting  the  gun  down  for  luncheon. 

Now  for  a  few  words  on  aiming  ;  but  I  must 
here  protest  that  this  does  not  profess  to  be  a 
shooting  "  Bradshaw,"  but  merely,  as  it  were, 
an  A  B  C  guide ! 

For  a  beginner,  no  doubt  the  easiest  way, 
in  the  case  of  any  ordinary  crossing  shot,  is  to 
put  up  the  gun  on  the  object,  then  fling  it- 
forward  as  far  in  front  as  is  thought  fit,  and 
fire,  but,  after  a  time,  I  think  this  kind  of 
double  action  will  no  longer  be  found  neces- 
sary.  The  gun  will  be  put  up  at  once  in  front 
of  the  game,  the  eye  taking  in  by  instinct  and 
practice  the  line  of  the  object,  and  experience 
telling  how  far  in  front  of  the  game  to  hold 
the  gun.  This  is  certainly  true  with  regard 
to  ground  game.  Quite  high-class  aiming  is 
to  put  the  gun  up  a  little  before  the  head  of 
the  object,  and  swing  the  gun  forward  with 
the  bird,  pulling  the  trigger  tvithout  stopping 
the  gun.     This  is  beyond  doubt  the  best  and 


Shooting.  207 

most   correct   method,    but   not   easy    to   ac- 
complish. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  you  shoot  with 
both  eyes  open. 

It  is  impossible  to  lay  down  a  rule  how  far 
in  front  to  hold  the  gun  for  a  crossing  shot. 
It  depends  upon  the  pace  the  bird  is  going, 
and  its  distance  from  you,  but,  roughly  speak- 
ing, for  an  ordinary  shot  at  twenty-five  yards, 
the  object's  own  length  in  front  may  be 
enough  (but  I  write  this  with  some  diffidence). 
For  a  driven  bird  or  high  pheasant,  my 
experience  is,  you  can't  get  too  far  ahead  ! 
For  a  rabbit  or  hare  going  away  from  you 
aim  at  the  back  of  its  head  ;  coming  towards 
you,  at  its  chest. 

One  of  the  greatest  charms  of  shooting 
is  its  "  infinite  variety."  Let  us  take  for  ex- 
ample, to  begin  with,  a  day's  covert  shooting. 

The  waggonette  with  its  pair  of  matched 
bays  (of  course  wTe  have  the  best  of  every- 
thing— on  paper)  stands  at  the  door.  You 
pack  yourselves  in,  with  a  goodly  amount 
of  rugs  and  furs,  and  away  you  go,  ten 
miles  an  hour,  through  the  park.     There  has 


2b8  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

been  a  sharp  frost,  the  cobwebs  are  all 
glistening  in  the  sun,  and  the  road  rings 
under  the  horses'  feet  in  a  manner  ominous 
to  the  lover  of  the  chase  proper,  but  music 
in  the  ears  of  the  shooting-man.  The  leaves 
are  mostly  off  the  trees,  but  here  and  there 
some  few  remaining  ones  shiver  gently  to 
the  ground ;  the  bracken  is  brown  and 
withered,  and  rustles  crisply  as  the  deer 
brush  through  it,  startled  at  the  sight  of 
the  carriage.  The  wind  is  keen  and  biting, 
but  you  turn  up  your  fur  collar  and  defy 
"  rude  Boreas." 

Arrived  at  the  starting  point  you  take, 
on  your  way  to  the  first  cover,  two  or  three 
rough  grasses.  The  rabbits  having  been 
previously  ferreted  and  otherwise  harried, 
have  forsaken  their  strongholds,  and  have, 
so  to  speak,  gone  under  canvas — they  are 
dotted  about  all  over  the  fields  in  seats. 
(It  is  astonishing  how  easy  it  is,  until  the 
eye  becomes  practised,  to  miss  seeing  a 
rabbit  in  a  seat.)  You  form  a  line,  a  beater 
or  two  between  each  gun  across  the  pasture. 
Before    you    have    gone    ten    yards,    a   rabbit 


Shooting,  209 


jumps  up  from  underneath  a  beater's  foot, 
and  makes  tracks  for  the  nearest  hedgerow 
or  plantation,  only,  however,  to  fall  a  victim 
to  the  right-hand  gun.  The  report  alarms 
another,  who,  without  delay,  seeks  to  follow 
in  the  steps  of  his  predecessor,  but  a  charge 
of  No.  5  interferes  with  his  scheme,  and  he 
also  succumbs  to  fate. 

Soon  the  fun  becomes  "fast  and  furious," 
four  or  five  rabbits  are  on  foot  together, 
necessitating  cjuick  loading  and  steady  shoot- 
ing. Here  one  breaks  back  through  the 
line,  and  comes  past  you  full  tilt.  You  take 
a  rapid  look  round  to  see  that  no  unlucky 
beater  lurks  in  the  rear  picking  up  the 
wounded — bang — ah  !  you  didn't  allow  for 
the  oblique  line  of  bunny's  course,  and  were 
half  a  foot  behind  him.  The  second  barrel, 
however,  stretches  him  a  corpse  on  the  field 
of  battle. 

At  the  end  of  the  pasture  runs  a  narrow 
strip  of  plantation.  Here  the  shooting  is 
more  difficult.  The  brambles  are  very  thick  ; 
you  have  to  take  snap-shots  as  the  rabbits 
bounce   from    one    thicket    to    another.     You 

0 


2io  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

must  fire  where  you  think  he'll  be  (not  where 
he  is),  but  even  this  manoeuvre  is  not  always 
successful,  as  that  old  man  who  has  been 
acting  as  stop  at  the  end  of  the  strip  will 
tell  you.  "  Nobbut  eleven  !  "  says  he,  "  there's 
bin  fortty  shots  fired  !  Ah  coonted  'em !"  Con- 
science-striken, you  look  at  one  another,  and 
positively  tremble  before  the  scorn  depicted 
in  that  old  man's  eye. 

Then  comes  a  small  outlying  covert.  Two 
guns  placed  back  to  back  command  the  end — 
the  rest  go  w7ith  tbe  beaters.  A  wood-pigeon 
is  the  first  to  make  a  move,  which  it  does 
with  a  tremendous  bustle  and  fuss ;  it  affords 
a  pretty  shot,  coming  straight  overhead,  and 
falls  with  a  "  plop '  behind  you.  Next  to 
take  alarm  is  an  old  hare.  She  scampers 
through  the  brushwood,  staring  behind  her, 
and  makes  for  her  usual  exit — a  hole  in  the 
hedge,  little  knowing,  poor  thing,  that  she  is 
galloping  straight  into  the  jaws  of  death,  for 
your  neighbour's  unerring  weapon  promptly 
does  its  duty. 

Then,  maybe  there  arises  a  wild  shout,  a 
discordant    "  Tally-ho  !  "    followed   by  sundry 


Shooting.  2 1 1 

yells  of  all  shades,  and  a  banging  great  fox 
breaks  away  across  the  stubble,  disappearing  in 
the  fence  only  to  emerge  again  in  the  pasture. 
I  think  a  fox  one  of  the  most  beautifully- 
proportioned  animals  there  is.  He  is  built 
on  such  racing  lines  !  with  those  long  gallop- 
ing quarters,  that  deep  chest,  and  muscular 
neck.  Look  at  him  as  he  steals  away  over 
the  grass  without  an  effort ;  he  doesn't  appear 
to  be  going  any  pace  at  all,  and  yet  in  a 
moment  he  is  out  of  sight !  No  hurry,  my 
friend  !  You  may  take  it  easy  to-day,  but 
in  a  very  short  time  you'll  dance  to  another 
and  a  quicker  tune  played  by  Yl\  couple  of 
the  "  best  hounds  in  England  ! " 

Meanwhile,  four  rabbits  have  taken  advan- 
tage of  your  soliloquy  to  make  good  their 
escape.  You  fire  a  snap-shot  at  one  as  he 
bobs  into  the  fence.  "Mark  over,"  and  a 
pheasant  whirrs  over  the  top  of  the  wood. 
You  hastily  cram  a  cartridge  into  your  gun, 
raise  it  and  pull,  only  to  find  that  you've 
forgotten  to  cock  the  right  barrel ;  you  change 
on  to  the  left  trigger,  but  this  has  put  you 
"of}',''    the    pheasant   goes   scathless,    and    is 


1 1 2  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

handsomely  knocked  down  by  your  com- 
panion-in-arms. Perhaps  this  is  an  argument 
in  favour  of  a  hammerless  gun  ! 

On  reaching  the  big  covert  the  aspect  of 
things  is  changed.  The  guns  are  placed  at 
intervals  down  the  rides,  and  the  beaters  go 
to  the  far  end  to  bring  it  up  towards  you.  It 
is  always  well  to  let  the  guns  on  either  side 
of  you,  know  your  whereabouts,  both  for  your 
own  sake  and  theirs.  Only  let  us  hope  you 
won't  meet  with  the  treatment  that  a  friend 
of  ours  received.  He  was  placed  next  to  a 
very  deaf  old  gentleman.  Awrare  that  he 
could  not  make  him  hear  by  calling,  or  (which 
is  much  preferable)  by  whistling,  he  took  out 
his  handkerchief  and  waved  it  to  attract  his 
attention.  The  old  gentleman  caught  sight  of 
it,  put  up  his  gun  and  took  a  steady  and 
deliberate  aim  at  it !  You  can  easily  imagine 
how  our  friend  ducked  and  bobbed,  and  threw 
himself  prone  on  the  grass  round  the  corner ! 

After  a  pause  a  distant  shot  is  heard,  then 
another,  and  soon  you  hear  the  tap  tap  of 
the  beaters,  and  "  Kabbit  up,"  "  Mark  over," 
"  Hare    to    the    right,"    may    be    continually 


Shooting.  2 1 3 

heard,  unless,  as  in  some  places,  silence  is 
enjoined  on  the  beaters.  "Mark  cock,:  is, 
however,  everywhere  an  exception  to  this 
rule,  and  at  the  magic  words,  every  gun  is 
on  the  alert !  I  never  understand  why  a  wood- 
cock should  be  productive  of  such  wild  ex- 
citement and  reckless  shooting  as  it  generally 
is  !  The  bird  flits  through  the  trees  a  little 
above  the  height  of  a  man's  head,  looking  as 
easy  to  kill  as  an  owl,  but  it  is  a  gay  deceiver, 
for  barrel  after  barrel  may  discharge  its  deadly 
contents  at  it,  and  still  that  brown  bird  flits 
on  as  before,  turning  up  and  down  as  it  goes. 
Of  course  (on  paper)  you  are  the  one  to  kill  it, 
when  you  are  loaded  w7ith  congratulations — 
their  very  weight  testifying  how  unexpected 
was  the  feat.  Rather  a  doubtful  compliment ! 
Half  the  wood  being  shot,  the  guns  move 
round  to  the  outside.  What  has  hitherto 
been  done,  has  been  chiefly  a  means  to  an 
end.  The  pheasants  have  been  driven  with 
the  object  of  getting  them  into  this  par- 
ticular corner.  Possibly  the  wood  stands 
on  the  slope  of  a  hill ;  this  gives  the  best 
shooting,    as    the   birds   fly  over   the   valley 


214  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

affording  high  and  difficult  shots,  especially 
if  coming  down-wind.  I  think  there  is  no- 
thing  prettier  than  to  see  real  high  birds 
well  killed.  They  fall  like  stones,  with 
heads  doubled  up — not  waving  down,  wings 
and  legs  out-stretched  like  the  arms  of  a 
semaphore ! 

"  Thick  and  fast  they  come  at  last, 
And  more,  arid  more,  and  more." 

But  do  not  let  this  tempt  you  into  firing 
too  quick.  Pick  your  bird  and  kill  it,  though 
I  grant  you  this  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  do. 
Many  men  seem  quite  to  lose  their  head  at  a  hot 
corner.  They  fire  almost  at  random,  though, 
in  the  case  of  a  few  birds  coming,  they  will 
scarcely  miss  a  shot. 

By  this  time  it  is  growing  dusk.  The 
December  afternoon  is  closing  in.  There  is  a 
mist  rising  from  the  river,  the  air  feels  damp 
and  chill,  and  your  thoughts  turn  to  a  bright 
fire,  a  tea-gown,  and  those  delicious  two  hours 
before  dinner. 

To  my  mind,  grouse-shooting  is  the  cream 
of  sport.     To  begin  with,  Scotland  itself  has  a 


Shooting.  2 1 


v> 


charm  which  no  other  country  possesses. 
Then  it  is  such  nice  clean  walking!  How- 
ever much  you  may  curtail  your  skirt,  mud 
will  stick  to  it,  but  on  the  heather  there  is 
nothing  to  handicap  you — you  are  almost  on 
a  level  with  MAN  ! 

From  the  moment  vou  leave  the  lodge  on  a 
shooting  morning,  your  pleasure  begins.  The 
dogs  and  keepers  have  preceded  you.  A 
couple  of  gillies  are  waiting  with,  the  ponies. 
You  mount,  and  wend  your  way  over  the  hill 
road,  ruminating  as  you  go,  on  the  possible 
bag,  and  taking  in,  almost  unconsciously,  the 
bewitching  feast  that  nature  with  such  a 
bountiful  hand  has  spread  before  you. 

On  either  side  a  wide  expanse  of  moorland, 
one  mass  of  bloom,  broken  here  and  there  by  a 
burnt  patch  or  some  grey  lichen-covered 
boulders.  The  ground  gently  slopes  on  the 
right  towards  a  few  scrubby  alders  or  birches, 
with  one  or  two  rowan  trees,  the  fringe  of 
green  bracken  denoting;  the  little  burn 
which  to-day  trickles  placidly  along,  but  in  a 
spate  becomes  a  ronring  torrent  of  brown 
water  and  white   foam.     Beyond   is   a   wide 


216  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

stretch  of  purple  heather,  then  a  strip  of 
yellow  and  crimson  bents,  dotted  with  the 
white  cotton-flower.  The  broken,  undulating 
ground,  with  its  little  knolls  and  hollows,  tells 
of  nice  covert  for  the  grouse  when  the  mid-clay 
sun  is  high,  and  the  birds  are.  as  an  old 
keeper  used  to  say,  "lying  deid  in  the 
heather." 

Further  away  rise  the  hills  in  their  stately 
grandeur,  green,  and  olive,  and  grey,  and 
purple  ;  how  the  light  changes  on  them  !  One 
behind  the  other  they  lie  in  massive  splendour, 
and,  more  distant  still,  the  faint  blue  outline 
of  some  giant  overtops  the  rest,  with  here  and 
there  a  rugged  peak  standing  out  against  the 
sky.  And,  pervading  all,  that  wonderful,  ex- 
hilarating, intoxicating  air ! 

Bounding  a  bend  in  the  road,  you  come 
across  three  or  four  hill-sheep,  standing  in  the 
shade  of  the  overhanging  bank.  Startled, 
they  lift  their  heads  and  gaze  at  you,  then 
rush  away,  bounding  over  the  stones  and 
heather  with  an  agility  very  unlike  the 
"  woolly  waddle  "  of  our  fat  Leicesters. 

Anon,  in  the  distance,  you  see  Donald  and 


S hooting.  2 1 7 

the  clogs  on  the  look-out  for  yon,  the  clogs 
clustered  round  the  keeper,  a  most  pictur- 
esque group. 

AY  hen  you  reach  them  and  dismount,  a 
brace  of  setters  are  uncoupled  and  boisterously 
tear  around,  till  peremptorily  called  to  order. 
You  take  your  guns,  etc.,  the  dogs  are  told  to 
"  hold  up,"  and  the  sport  begins. 

In  a  few  moments  "  Rake  '  pulls  up  short, 
and  stands  like  a  rock  ;  "  Ruby '  backs  him. 
You  advance  slowly,  always,  when  possible,  at 
the  side  of  the  clog  standing,  and  pause  for 
your  companion  to  come  up.  Rake  moves 
forward,  a  step  at  a  time,  his  lip  twitching 
and  his  eyes  eager  with  excitement ;  another 
second  and  the  birds  get  up.  Seven  of  them. 
(Here  let  me  give  the  beginner  a  hint.  Take 
the  birds  nearest  you  and  furthest  from  your 
companion,  never  shoot  across  him,  don't 
change  your  bird,  and  don't  fire  too  soon.) 
You  re-load  and  walk  up  to  where  they 
rose,  there  will  probably  be  a  bird  left.  Up 
he  gets,  right  under  your  feet.  You  let  him 
go  a  proper  distance,  then  neatly  drop  him  in 
the  heather. 


2i8  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

This  kind  of  thing  is  repeated  again  and 
again,  varied  by  an  odd  "  bluehare,"  or  a  twist- 
ing snipe.  The  dogs  quarter  their  ground 
beautifully,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  see  them  work, 
for  grouse  are  plentiful,  the  shooting  good, 
and  they  are  encouraged  to  do  their  best. 
Perhaps  there  may  be  a  bit  of  swamp  sur- 
rounded by  rushes  in  which  an  occasional 
duck  is  to  be  found.  The  dogs  are  taken 
up,  and  the  guns  creep  cautiously  forward, 
taking  care  to  keep  out  of  sight  till  within 
shot.  You  then  show  yourselves  simul- 
taneously on  the  right  and  left,  wdien  the 
birds  will  generally  spring.  Kemember  to 
aim  above  a  duck — because  it  is  always 
rising. 

Later  on  in  the  season  grouse  get  wilder, 
and  the  shooting  consequently  more  amus- 
ing. The  old  cocks  grow  very  wary,  but 
sometimes,  coming  round  the  brow  of  a  hill, 
you  light  suddenly  on  a  grand  old  fellow, 
who,  with  a  "  Bak-a-bak-bak,"  rises  right 
up  into  the  air,  turns,  and  goes  off  down- 
wind forty  miles  an  hour.  Catch  him  under 
the  wing  just  on   the   turn — a   lovely  shot. 


Shooting.  2 1 9 

If  you  miss  him  he  won't  give  you  another 
chance  that  clay  ! 

By  way  of  variety  you  are  sometimes 
bidden  to  assist  at  a  neighbouring  "  drive  ' 
for  black  game  and  roe.  On  one  occasion 
we  were  asked  to  join  a  party  for  this  pur- 
pose. We  set  off  with  an  army  of  guns 
and  beaters,  some  of  the  former  decidedly 
inexperienced  ones.  It  is,  of  course,  essential 
in  roe-driving,  that  you  should,  when  in  posi- 
tion, keep  absolutely  still.  It  was  known  that 
two  bucks  with  exceptionally  fine  heads 
frequented  the  wood,  and  our  host  was  anx- 
ious to  secure  them.  My  husband  was 
placed  in  a  very  likely  place,  and  there,  in 
spite  of  midges  and  flies  galore,  he  possessed 
his  soul  in  patience.  Suddenly  he  thought 
he  heard  a  footstep  ;  the  sound  was  repeated, 
and,  cautiously  moving  to  discover  what  it 
might  portend,  he  saw  the  gun  stationed 
next  him  calmly  patrolling  up  and  down, 
flicking  away  the  midges  with  his  white 
handkerchief!  My  husband  didn't  get  that 
buck. 

After  luncheon,  our  party  was  reinforced  by 


220  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the  butler  and  the  French  cook.  Both  arrived 
with  guns,  which  they  carried  "at  the  trail/ 
at  full  cock  'over  the  roughest  ground.  The 
chef  was  a  long,  lean,  lank,  cadaverous  man 
looking  as  if  he  wanted  one  of  his  own 
skewers  run  down  him.  He  was  dressed  in 
shiny  black  clothes  and  wore  enormous 
slippers.  Comfortable  enough,  no  doubt,  on 
the  trottoir  of  his  "  beloved  Paris,"  but 
scarcely  suitable  for  the  hill !  So  he  seemed 
to  find,  for  he  shortly  retired,  when  we  felt 
considerably  happier.  Another  time,  the 
best  wood,  the  bonne  bouche,  was  carefully 
beaten  through  while  we  were  discussing  a 
recherche  champagne  luncheon.  Just  as  we 
finished,  the  shouts,  cries,  and  discordant 
noises  which  denote  the  approach  of  beaters, 
were  heard,  and  shortly  after,  one  of  the 
keepers  came  up  and  informed  us  that  the 
whole  wood  had  been  gone  through  and  that 
seven  roe,  to  say  nothing  of  a  red  deer  had 
been  seen!  Evidently  "someone  had  blun- 
dered." I  do  not  myself  think  there  is  much 
sport  in  roe-driving.  To  begin  with  they  are 
such  pretty  graceful  animals,  one  cannot  kill 


Shooting.  2  2 1 


■a 


them  without  remorse.  Also  it  requires  very 
little  skill  to  put  a  charge  of  shot  into  them 
even  at  a  gallop. 

Nor  is  a  grey-hen  a  difficult  bird  to  kill. 
Heavy  and  slow — what  Mr  Jorrocks  calls  "  a 
henterpriseless  brute" — it  Hops  along  through 
the  birch  trees  (though,  when  driven,  and 
coming  from  some  distance  it  acquires  much 
greater  speed),  looking  more  like  a  barn-door 
fowl  than  a  game  bird  ;  but  the  Sultan  of  the 
tribe  is  quite  a  different  thing.  Wild,  wary 
and  watchful,  he  is  ever  on  the  qui  vive. 
When  you  do  get  a  shot  at  him  he  is  travel- 
ling by  express,  and  having,  most  probably, 
been  put  up  some  distance  off,  he  has  con- 
siderable "  way  "  on.  You  see  his  white  feathers 
gleam  in  the  sun,  and  the  curl  of  his  tail 
against  the  sky.  Shoot  well  ahead  of  him. 
Ah  !  great  is  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  the 
dull  thud  as  he  falls,  and  of  seeing  him 
bounce  up  with  the  force  of  the  contact  with 
mother-earth.  Truly,  an  old  black-cock  is  a 
grand  bird  !  His  glossy  blue-black  plumage, 
white  under- wings  and  tail,  and  red  eye  make 
such  a  pleasing  contrast. 


222  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

I     remember    once,    when    grouse-driving 
towards    the   eud    of    the   day,    the    beaters 
brought  up  a  small  birch  wood  which   stood 
near  the  last  row  of  butts.     There  were  two 
or  three  ladies  with  us.     One  of  them,  a  most 
bewitching  and  lovely  young  woman,  accom- 
panied a  gallant  soldier  into  his  butt,  to  mark 
his  prowess.     As  luck  would  have  it,  nine  old 
black-cock  flew  over  that  brave  colonel's  butt, 
bub,  strange  to  say,  four  went  away  without  a 
shot,   and  not  one  of  the  nine  remained  as 
witnesses  of  his  skill !     Now,  let  me  point  out, 
had    that   said    charming   girl   been  shooting, 
she  would  have  been  stationed  in  a  butt  by 
herself,   and,  judging  by  that  soldier's   usual 
performance,  at  least  five  of  those  old  black- 
cock  would   have  bitten   the  dust  that  day  ! 
And  "  the  moral  of  that  is  " — give  a  graceful 
8[irl  a  £un  ! 

The  hill  ponies  are  wonderfully  sagacious 
animals.  When  they  have  been  once  or  twice 
over  a  road,  they  will  never  mistake  their 
way.  Once,  when  staying  in  Sutherlandshire, 
two  of  us  started  at  10*15  a.m.  We  rode 
about  four  miles,   before  beginning  to  shoot, 


Shooting.  223 

over  a  very  bad  bit  of  country.  There  were  two 
burns  to  ford,  some  curious  kind  of  grips  to 
jump,  and  several  boggy  places  to  circum- 
navigate. 

We  shot  away  from  home  till  about  6 '30, 
then  met  the  ponies  and  started  on  our  ride 
home — about  nine  miles.  We  neither  of  us 
knew  the  way,  beyond  having  a  vague  idea  as 
to  the  direction  in  which  the  lodge  lay.  The 
first  part  was  easy  enough,  a  narrow  sheep- 
walk  guided  us,  but  at  length  that  failed,  and 
there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  trust  to  the 
ponies.  We  could  only  go  at  a  foot's-pace. 
The  September  evening  fast  closed  in,  and  it 
came  on  to  drizzle,  until,  for  the  last  two 
miles,  we  could  scarcely  see  two  yards  before 
us,  and  yet  those  ponies  brought  us  home — 
over  the  two  fords,  avoided  the  treacherous 
grips  and  the  boggy  places,  never  putting  a 
foot  wrong  the  whole  way !  It  was  long- 
past  nine  when  the  lights  of  the  lodge  hove 
in  sight.  Truly  that  night's  dinner  was  a 
"  thing  of  beauty"  and  bed  seemed  a  "joy 
for  ever ! ' 

Two  davs  later  found  me  keen  as  mustard 


224  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

to  scale  the  heights  of  Ben  Hope  for  ptar- 
migan. It  was  almost  the  only  game  bird, 
except  capercailzie,  I  had  never  shot,  and  I 
was  extremely  anxious  to  seize  an  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  so.  Five  guns  set  out. 
We  rode  a  considerable  distance,  until  the 
ground  became  too  soft  for  ponies  to  travel. 
Arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  I  gazed  in 
dismay  at  its  steep,  stony  height,  and  felt 
like  the  child  in  the  allegory  who  turns 
back  at  its  first  difficulty !  But  pluck  and 
ambition  prevailed,  and  I  struggled  gamely 
up,  though,  hot  and  breathless,  I  was  forced 
to  pause  more  than  once  ere  we  got  even 
half  way.  We  had  agreed  that,  on  no  account, 
were  we  to  fire  at  anything  but  ptarmigan. 
When  we  had  ascended  about  1300  feet  a 
covey  of  grouse  got  up.  One  of  the  sports- 
men, nay,  the  very  one  who  had  been  fore- 
most in  suggesting  that  ptarmigan  only 
should  be  our  prey,  turned  round,  and  feebly 
let  fly  both  barrels,  wounding  one  wretched 
bird  which  disappeared  into  the  depths  below, 
never  to  be  seen  again !  As  the  report 
reverberated    through    the     hill,    the    whole 


Shooting.  225 

place  above  us  seemed  to  be  alive  with  the 
cackling  of  ptarmigan,  and,  in  a  moment, 
without  any  exaggeration  at  least  twenty 
brace  were  on  the  wing  at  once,  making 
their  way  round  the  shoulder,  over  the  Green 
Corrie  to  the  highest  part  of  Ben  Hope. 
I  think  the  spectre  of  that  grouse  must 
haunt  that  sportsman  yet ! 

Of  course  there  were  a  few  odd  birds 
left,  and,  before  we  gained  the  top,  we  had 
each  picked  up  one  or  two,  though,  through 
another  contretemps,  I  missed  my  best  chance. 
I  had  unwillingly,  over  a  very  steep  and 
rocky  bit  of  ground,  given  up  my  gun  to 
the  keeper.  The  moment  after  I  had  done 
so,  two  ptarmigan  got  up  to  my  left,  offer- 
ing a  lovely  cross  shot,  and,  before  I  could 
seize  the  gun,  they  fell,  a  very  pretty 
double  shot,  to  our  host  on  my  right.  When 
we  reached  the  summit,  we  found  ourselves 
enveloped  in  a  thick  fog,  although  down  below 
it  was  a  brilliant  hot  day ;  so  dense  was 
it,  that,  notwithstanding  we  were  walking 
in  line,  some  of  us  got  separated,  and  it 
must   have  been  almost   an    hour  before  we 

v 


226  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

joined  forces  again.  Altogether  it  was  a 
hard  day's  work,  but,  having  attained  my 
object,  I  was  sublimely  indifferent  to  every- 
thing else. 

Driving  is  certainly  the  form  of  shooting 
that  requires  the  most  skill,   whether   it   be 
grouse  or  partridge,    and  is  most  fascinating 
when    you    can    hit    your    birds  !       Grouse- 
driving  appears  to  me  the  easier  of  the  two ; 
partly  because  they  come  straight,  and  partly 
because    you    can    see    them    much    further 
off,    also    they    are    rather    bigger,    though 
they  may,  perhaps,  come  the  quicker  of  the 
two.      Nothing    but    experience    will     show 
you   how   soon    you    can    fire    at   a    driven 
grouse  coming   towards   you.       Some   people 
get   on   to   their    birds    much    quicker   than 
others.       I     have     heard     it    said    that    as 
soon   as   you    can    distinguish    the   plumage 
of  the  bird,  he  is  within  shot.     Aim  a  little 
above  him  if  he   is    coming   towards   you — 
a  long  way  ahead  if  he  is  crossing. 

If  you  shoot  with  two  guns,  I  assume 
that  you  have  practised  "giving  and  tak- 
ing" with    a   loader.       Otherwise    there    will 


Shooting.  227 

be  a  fine  clashing  of  barrels  and  possibly 
an  unintentional  explosion.  The  cap  and 
jacket  for  driving  must  be  of  some  neutral 
tint,  any  white  showing  is  liable  to  turn 
the  birds.  Of  course  you  must  be  most 
careful  never  to  fire  a  side  shot  within 
range  of  the  next  butt.  A  beginner  is  more 
apt  to  do  this,  from  being  naturally  a  slow 
shot  at  first. 

The  same  rules  hold  good  for  partridge-driv- 
ing, only  there  you  usually  stand  behind 
a  high  hedge,  consequently  you  cannot  see 
the  birds  approaching.  You  hear  "Ma-a-rk' 
in  the  distance,  and  the  next  moment — 
whish !  They  are  over,  scattering  at  the 
sight  of  you  to  right  or  left  ;  take  one  as 
he  comes  over  you,  and  you  may  get 
another  going  away  from  you — or  a  side 
shot — provided  there  is  no  gun  lower  down 
whom  you  run  the  risk  of  peppering. 

Walking  up  partridges  in  turnips  affords 
the  same  kind  of  shooting  as  grouse  over 
dogs ;  not  bad  fun  when  they  are  plenti- 
ful, but  hardish  work  for  petticoats  !  If  a 
hare  gets  up  and  bounds  away,  the  movino- 


228  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

turnip-tops  will  be  your  only  guide  to  her 
whereabouts,  aim  rather  low,  or  the  chances 
are  you  fire  over  her  back.  A  curious  in- 
cident once  happened  when  we  were  part- 
ridge shooting.  Two  hares  were  put  up, 
and  running  from  opposite  directions  up  the 
same  row  they  "  collided,"  and  with  such 
violence  that  one  broke  its  neck  and  the 
other  was  so  stunned  that  it  wTas  picked 
up  by  a  beater !  The  Irishman  might  wTith 
truth  have  said — "Man,  they  jostle  one 
anoither."  And  this  in  spite  of  the  Ground 
Game  Act ! 

You  will  occasionally  come  across  snipe 
in  turnips.  They  are  horrid  little  zig- 
zagging wretches !  If  you  wait  till  their 
first  gyrations  are  over,  they  do,  for  a 
second,  fly  straight  (for  them),  and  even  a 
20-bore  can  sometimes  lay  them  low. 

I  once  shot  a  quail.  I  mistook  it  for  a 
"  cheeper'  minus  a  tail,  and  gazed  placidly 
at  its  retreating  form,  murmuring  to  myself, 
"too  small,"  when  I  was  electrified  by 
a  yell — "  Shoot,  shoot ! '  Being  trained  to 
habits    of    obedience,    I   promptly    did    as    I 


Shooting.  229 


%s 


was  told,  and  brought  the  "little  nutterer" 
down.  A  quail  in  a  turnip  field !  I  should 
as  soon  have  expected  to  meet  one  of  the 
children  of  Israel. 

On  a  winter  afternoon,  faute-de-mieux, 
shooting  wood-pigeons  coming  in  to  roost, 
is  a  pastime  not  to  be  despised,  but  it  is 
very  cold  work.  A  windy  evening  is  the  best ; 
luckily  pigeons  always  fly  in  against  the  wind, 
so  you  can  get  on  the  leeside  of  the  planta- 
tion and  shoot  them  coming  in,  or  you 
can  ensconce  yourself  under  the  shelter  of 
some  fir-boug;hs  near  the  trees  in  which 
they  are  accustomed  to  roost.  A  pigeon 
takes  a  lot  of  killing,  he  possesses  so  many 
feathers ;  then  he  has  an  eye  like  a  hawk, 
and  can  turn  with  incredible  speed.  If 
there  are  several  guns  in  different  woods 
you  may  easily  get  100  in  an  hour  or  two, 
and  often  many  more. 

Of  the  grandest  sport  of  all  I  grieve  to 
say  I  can  write  nothing.  I  have  never 
had  the  chance  of  a  shot  at  a  stag.  It  is 
not  possible  to  describe  a  stalk  by  hearsay 
only ;    besides,    in    my    remarks   hitherto,    I 


230  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

have  recorded  nothing  which  has   not   come 
within  my  own  actual  experience. 

I  can,  however,  easily  imagine  the  in- 
tense pleasure  of  being  well  brought  up  to 
within,  perhaps,  100  yards  of  a  good  stag, 
the  excitement  of  having  the  rifle  thrust 
into  your  hands  with  a  whispered  "  Tak' 
time,"  the  cautious  raising  of  the  weapon 
to  a  rest,  the  anxious  moment  as  you  take 
your  sight  and  gently  press  the  trigger, 
and  the  supreme  delight  of  hearing  the 
"thud5  of  the  bullet  as  it  strikes,  and  as 
the  smoke  clears  off,  of  seeing  him  stagger 
a  few  paces  and  fall  "  never  to  rise  again." 
I  forbear  to  draw  the  reverse  side  of  the 
picture. 

Of  course,  in  many  forests,  stalking  is  quite 
feasible  for  ladies,  though  not  within  reach  of 
all.  I  confess  I  envy  those  fortunate  indi- 
viduals who  have,  more  than  once,  compelled 
some  "  an  tiered  monarch  of  the  glen '  to  bow 
his  lofty  head  and  lower  his  colours  at  their 
bidding  ! 

With  regard  to  dress — I  believe,  for  those 
who  can  endure  the  feel,  wearing  all  wool  is 


Shooting.  2  3 1 

a  great  safeguard  against  rheumatism,  chills, 
and  all  evils  of  that  ilk.     But,  on  this  subject, 
every  woman  will  of  course  please  herself.     I 
will  therefore  merely  give  an  outline    of  my 
own   get-up.     A  short  plain    skirt  of  Harris 
tweed,   with  just  enough  width  to   allow   of 
striding  or  jumping,  a  half  tight-fitting  jacket 
to  match,  with  turn-up  collar  and  strap  like  a 
cover-coat,    pockets   big    enough   to   get   the 
hands  in  and  out  easily,  a  flannel  shirt  and 
leather  belt,  or,  for  smarter  occasions,  a  stiff 
shirt  and  waistcoat.     Knickerbockers  of  thin 
dark  tweed,   high  laced  boots  with  nails,  or 
brown  leather  gaiters  and  shoes.     If  a  petti- 
coat is  worn,  silk  is  the  best  material  for  walk- 
ins  in.     I  have  neither  mackintosh  nor  leather 
on  my  dress,  I  dislike  the  feel  of  both.     For  wet 
weather,  a  waterproof  cape,  with  straps  over  the 
shoulders  so  that  it  can  be  thrown  back,  if  re- 
quired,in  the  act  of  shooting,  is  very  convenient. 
But  there  is  really  only  one  essential  in  a 
shooting  costume.     It  must  be  loose  enough 
to  give  the   arms  perfect  freedom   in    every 
direction — without    this,    it   is   impossible   to 
shoot  well  or  quickly. 


232  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

One  last  hint.  Never  go  on  shooting  when 
you  are  tired.  It  will  only  cause  you  dis- 
appointment, and  others  vexation  of  spirit, 
for  you  will  assuredly  shoot  under  everything. 
Bird  after  bird  will  go  away  wounded,  time 
after  time  your  mentor  (or  tormentor)  wall 
cry  "low  and  behind,  low  and  behind," 
until,  in  angry  despair,  you  long  to  fling  the 
empty  cartridge  at  his  head.  Take  my  advice 
"  give  it  up,  and  go  home  ! ' 

That  the  above  notes  may  not  be  free  from 
numerous  sins  of  omission  and  commission,  I 
am  well  awrare.  It  would  be  great  presump- 
tion on  my  part  to  suppose  that  my  feeble 
pen  could  do  what  many  men  have  failed  to 
accomplish.  But  if  any  hints  I  have  given 
prove  of  service  to  beginners  and  encourage 
them  to  persevere  (even  though  at  present,  like 
the  old  woman's  false  teeth  "they  misses  as 
often  as  they  hits"),  my  pleasant  task  will 
not  have  been  in  vain. 

Mildred  Boynton. 


A  KANGAROO  HUNT. 


A  KANGAROO  HUNT. 

By  Mrs  Jenkins. 

It  has  been  said  "An  Englishman  is  never 
happy  unless  he  is  killing  something,"  and 
nowadays,  at  any  rate,  his  happiness  seems 
increased  if  members  of  the  weaker  sex  share 
this  propensity  with  him ;  and  so  a  short 
account  of  a  kangaroo  hunt  may  not  be 
inappropriate  in  a  book  about  women's 
sports. 

This  is  an  exclusively  Australian  pastime, 
and  has  peculiar  incidents  of  its  own  from  the 
start  to  the  finish.  We  do  not  see  pink  coats 
and  heavy  hunters,  the  bay  of  the  hounds  does 
not  break  on  our  ear,  there  are  no  hedges 
to  leap,  nor  brooks,  followed  by  a  flounder 
through  a  ploughed  field ;  wTe  do  not  come 
home  in  a  cold  drizzle  at  the  end  of  a 
delightful  day,  and  sit  near  the  fireside, 
wondering  whether  there  will  be  a  frost 
before  morning,  and  whether  the  mares  legs 

235 


236  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

will  last  this  season.  No,  our  hunting  is 
clone  under  a  bright  sun  and  balmy  breezes, 
and,  though  we  miss  the  prettiness  and  order 
which  accompany  a  meet  in  the  "auld 
countree,"  still,  there  is  a  rugged  beauty 
about  our  surroundings.  The  horses  are 
well-bred,  though  many  of  them  not  well 
groomed ;  the  riders  are  graceful  and 
plucky,  and  the  tout  ensemble  makes  a  fair 
picture  to  the  lover  of  horseflesh  and 
sport. 

Well,  friends  have  come  together,  the 
kangaroo  hounds  (they  are  a  cross  between 
the  deerhound  and  greyhound,)  are  let 
loose  and  gambol  round  the  horses,  letting 
out  short  barks  of  satisfaction  as  the  riders 
mount.  Off  we  go.  The  country  is  hilly 
and  thickly-wooded,  logs  lie  in  all  directions, 
but  our  horses,  bred  in  the  district,  pick  their 
way,  and  go  at  a  smart  canter  in  and  out 
of  trees,  and  jump  the  logs  as  they  come  to 
them. 

A  low  Hist !  from  the  leader  of  the  chase 
— he  is  the  owner  of  the  station — mounted 
on  a  thorough-bred  bay,  the  hounds  stand  a 


A  Kangaroo  Hunt.  237 

second  with  pricked  up  ears,  and  their  heads 
high  in  the  air,  for  they  run  by  sight ;  then 
off  they  go,  and  off  we  go  after  them.  The 
kangaroos,  six  in  number,  led  by  a  big  "  old 
man,"  spring  along  at  an  amazing  pace, 
crash  goes  the  brushwood,  here  and  there 
a  hound  rolls  over,  making  a  miss  at  a  log, 
but,  in  a  second,  he  is  up  again,  straining 
every  nerve  of  his  graceful  body  to  reach 
his  companions.  We  are  nearing  a  wire 
fence ;  will  the  kangaroos  be  caught  before 
we  come  to  it  ?  Tf  not,  some  pretty  riding 
will  be  seen,  and  British  pluck  will  be  needed 
to  carry  horse  and  rider  over  a  five-feet  fence, 
topped  with  barbed  wire.  However,  our 
courage  is  not  to  be  tested  this  time  ;  the 
fleetest  hound  has  the  "  old  man'  by  the 
throat,  the  rest  of  the  pack  come  up,  and 
in  a  few  moments  all  is  over.  A  boy  skins 
the  victim  and  the  tail  is  cut  off,  later  on 
to  make  soup. 

Now  we  have  a  consultation  as  to  wdiich 
way  we  shall  go.  It  is  getting  near  luncheon 
time  and  our  host  wants  us  to  camp  on  a 
pretty   bend    of  the    river,    so    we    take    our 


2^8  Ladies  in  the  Field. 


o 


course  in  that  direction,  spreading  over  a 
good  space,  and  all  keeping  a  good  look-out. 

We  are  ascending  a  mountain,  the  way 
is  stony,  and,  as  we  go  along,  the  scenery 
continually  varies.  Hill  after  hill  rises  before 
us,  separated  by  deep  gorges,  all  thickly 
timbered  and  abounding  in  ferns  and  flower- 
ing shrubs.  The  magpies  warble  and  the 
thrush  whistles  its  piping  note,  interrupted 
now  and  then  by  the  shrill  laugh  of  the  jackass. 
But  some  kangaroos  have  been  sighted,  and 
even  the  most  ardent  lovers  of  scenery  are  at 
once  on  the  alert. 

Up  and  down  hill  we  go,  with  many  a 
slip  and  a  scramble,  horse  and  rider  none 
the  worse.  The  kangaroos  rush  at  a  tre- 
mendous  speed,  some  of  them  carrying  a 
young  one  in  their  pouch ;  one  poor  beast 
is  so  hard  pressed  she  throws  the  young  one 
out  of  her  pouch  ;  it  hops  away  through  the 
grass,  to  be  caught  later  by  friendly  hands 
and  carried  home  as  a  pet.  No  such  luck 
for  the  mother,  the  hounds  are  on  her  and 
she  is  rolled  over,  and  on  they  go  again  in 
pursuit  of  her  fleeter  companions. 


A  Kangaroo  Hunt.  239 

A  big  fence  has  scattered  them,  but  one, 
more  plucky  than  the  rest,  makes  a  frantic 
spring.  Alas  !  the  quick  run  has  been  too 
much  for  his  powers  and  he  gets  caught  on 
the  merciless  barbed  wire.  The  foremost 
rider,  thinking  the  kangaroo  would  clear  it, 
is  preparing  to  take  the  fence  in  a  flying 
leap,  but  the  sight  of  the  kangaroo  caught 
makes  the  horse  baulk,  and  crash  they  all 
come  down  together.  With  a  wonderful 
quickness  the  rider  rolls  himself  away  from 
the  fallen  horse  and  is  helping  the  animal 
up,  both  none  the  w7orse,  except  for  a  few 
scratches  and  a  good  shaking. 

Everyone  is  now  agreed  that  luncheon 
has  been  well  earned,  so  we  ride  and  drive 
(for  a  buggy  and  pair  of  ponies  have  been 
following  in  our  tracks)  to  a  favourite  spot. 
And  what  a  sight  breaks  on  our  eyes  !  We 
are  in  a  valley,  with  hills  towering  around 
us,  the  river  makes  a  sharp  bend,  along  the 
banks  are  a  mass  of  wattle  trees  in  full  bloom, 
the  beautiful  yellow  flowers  lighting  up  the 
dark  green  leaves  and  reddish  brown  bark. 
The  sky  is  cloudless,  and  a  little  way  off,  lies 


240  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

a  herd  of  Devon  cattle,  quietly  chewing  the 
cud,  and  mildly  wondering  what  has  brought 
such  a  large  party,  evidently  bent  on  play 
instead  of  work,  to  their  retreat.  We  see  a 
ripple  on  the  still,  deep,  flowing  water,  and 
a  platypus  swims  along  quickly  to  his  nest 
on  the  bank.  A  little  lower  down  we  hear 
the  whirr  of  the  wild  duck,  which  have  been 
disturbed  by  our  coming. 

A  fire  is  soon  lighted ;  one  is  told  off  to 
unpack  the  basket  of  good  things ;  another 
grills  some  steak,  someone  else  undertakes 
potatoes,  the  oldest  bushman  of  the  lot  says  he 
will  regale  us  with  "Johnnie  Cakes."  These 
are  made  of  flour  and  water  and  a  little  salt, 
rolled  very  thin  and  cooked  in  the  ashes, 
and  very  good  they  prove  to  be ;  and  last, 
but  not  least,  we  make  the  tea,  boiling  the 
water  in  a  tin  pot  and  putting  the  tea  into 

it. 

In  about  half  an  hour  our  various  cooks 
have  all  ready,  and  we  lie  about  on  the  grass 
and  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger.  After  that 
pipes  are  lighted  and  stories  go  round  of 
former  exploits,  how  wild   horses  have  been 


A  Kangaroo  Hunt.  241 

caught  and  tamed,  how  thousands  of  kangaroos 
have  been  driven  into  yards  made  for  the 
purpose  and  died  of  suffocation  in  the  crowd  ; 
of  adventures  with  wild  cattle  and  blacks,  etc., 
etc.  More  serious  subjects,  too,  are  being  dis- 
cussed in  twos  and  threes  ;  for  there  is  some- 
thing quiet  and  soothing  in  the  scene  around, 
that  brings  to  mind  memories  long  forgotten, 
joys  and  sorrows  long  past,  and  amid  this 
picture  of  peace  and  beauty,  friends  talk  and 
open  their  hearts  to  each  other,  and  realise  the 
fact  that  nature  can  preach  a  more  eloquent 
sermon  than  is  heard  from  many  a  pulpit. 
But  everything  in  this  world  must  come  to 
an  end  ;  the  horses  are  caught  and  harnessed 
and  we  all  jog  homeward.  On  the  way  the 
younger  spirits  of  the  party  have  a  gallop 
after  stray  kangaroos  and  bring  the  tails  back 
with  them  as  trophies. 

One  incident  in  the  last  chase  may  be  worth 
mentioning.  The  kangaroos  are  bounding 
along-,  with  the  hounds  and  horsemen  close 
behind  them.  They  come  to  a  three  rail 
fence  of  heavy  timber ;  without  a  miss  the 
kangaroos  take  it  in  a  flying  leap  and  appar- 

Q 


242  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

ently   without    any    extra  exertion ;    over  go 
the  hounds,  and  the  horsemen  follow  to  a  man, 
then   the   excitement   increases  for   they  are 
coming  to  a  big  lagoon  ;  splash  goes  a  kan- 
garoo  into  it  and  now  we  see  a   real   fight. 
The  kangaroo  stands   up  to  his  neck  in  the 
water,   beating  about  with  his  legs,  and  the 
hounds   swim   around.      A   young    one,    not 
knowing   the   danger,  makes   a   snap   at   his 
throat,   he  is  instantly  seized  in  the  animals 
arms   and   his    back   broken.      Poor    Daisy ! 
your  hunting  days  have  been  short  and  you 
had  yet  to  learn  that  discretion  was  the  better 
part  of  valour.     The  older  hounds  keep  swim- 
ming  round,    gradually   coming   nearer,    and 
several  at  once  make  snaps  at  different  parts 
of  the  kangaroo.     A  hand-to-  hand  fight  takes 
place,    the   kangaroo   ripping    and   wounding 
the  hounds  with  his  powerful  hind  claws  ;  but 
the  plucky  beasts  keep  their  hold,  and  amid 
yelps   of  rage   and   pain,  the   splashing   and 
reddening:  of  the  water,  and  the  shouts  of  the 
huntsmen  to  encourage  the  hounds,  the  victim 
•sinks,  after  a  vigorous  struggle  for  his  life. 
As  we  drive  down  the  mountains  the  sun 


A  Kangaroo  Hunt.  243 


c 


is  setting,  banks  of  heavy  clouds  are  rising 
tinged  with  purple,  and  prophesying  a  thun- 
derstorm, which  is  made  more  sure  by  the 
distant  roar  we  hear.  There  is  a  stillness  in 
the  air,  broken  by  the  cracking  of  the  brush- 
wood and  the  ominous  cry  of  birds.  Sud- 
denly a  streak  of  lightning  startles  us,  fol- 
lowed by  a  loud  crash  which  echoes  round 
and  round.  We  hurry  home,  and  only  arrive 
just  in  time  to  escape  a  thorough  soaking, 
for  the  rain  comes  streaming  down. 

Beatrice  M.  Jenkins. 


CYCLING. 


CYCLING. 

By  Mrs  E.  Robins  Pennell. 

k'  There  should  be  nothing  so  much  a  man's 
business  as  his  amusements."  Substitute 
icoman  for  man,  and  I,  for  my  part,  can- 
not quarrel  with  Mr  Stevenson's  creed. 
Our  amusements,  after  all,  are  the  main 
thing  in  life,  and  of  these  I  have  found 
cycling  the  most  satisfactory.  As  a  good 
healthy  tonic,  it  should  appeal  to  the  scru- 
pulous woman  who  cannot  even  amuse  her- 
self without  a  purpose;  it  has  elements  of 
excitement  to  attract  the  more  adventurous. 
It  is  a  pleasure  in  itself,  the  physical  exer- 
cise being  its  own  reward  ;  it  is  a  pleasure 
in  what  it  leads  to,  since  travelling  is  the 
chief  end  of  the  cycle.  That  women  do  not 
yet  appreciate  it  at  its  true  worth,  that,  as  a 
rule,  they  would  still  rather  play  tennis  or 
pull  a  boat  than  ride  a  bicycle,  is  their  own 

great  loss. 

247 


248  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

Cycling  is  the  youngest  of  woman's  sports. 
It  did  not  come  in  until  the  invention  of  the 
tricycle,  or  three-wheeled  machine;  neces- 
sarily it  was  out  of  the  question  for  anyone 
wearing  skirts,  divided  or  otherwise,  to 
mount  the  tall  bicycle,  or  "ordinary."  In 
1878  tricycles,  invented  at  a  still  earlier 
date,  were  first  practically  advertised,  and  one 
of  the  authors  of  the  book  on  cycling  in  the 
Badminton  Library  says,  that  already  in  that 
year  "tradition  told  of  a  lady  rider,  who,  in 
company  with  her  husband,  made  an  ex- 
tended tour  along  the  south  coast;  and  in 
quiet  lanes  and  private  gardens  feminine 
riders  began  to  initiate  themselves  into  the 
pastime."  But,  despite  the  courage  of  their 
pioneer,  not  until  a  few  years  later  did  they 
desert  private  lanes  for  public  roads,  and 
then  it  was  only  in  small  numbers.  Had 
they  been  more  enterprising,  a  serious  hind- 
rance in  their  way  was  the  fact  that  at  first 
makers  refused  to  understand  their  require- 
ments. The  early  tricycles  made  for  us  were 
meant  to  be  very  ladylike,  but  they  were 
sadly  inappropriate.    It  was  really  the  tandem 


Cycling.  249 

which  did  most  to  increase  the  popularity 
of  the  sport  among  women.  The  sociable, 
where  the  riders  sit  side  by  side,  was  the 
first  of  the  double  machines,  but  it  is  an 
instrument  of  torture  rather  than  of  pleasure, 
as  whoever  has  tried  to  work  it  knows  to  his 
or  her  cost.  Its  width  makes  it  awkward 
and  cumbersome  even  on  good  roads,  and 
when  there  is  a  head  wind — and  the  wind 
always  blows  in  one's  face — the  treadmill  is 
child's  play  in  comparison.  The  tandem,  on 
which,  as  the  name  explains,  one  rider  sits 
behind  the  other,  takes  up  no  more  space 
than  a  single  tricycle  and  offers  no  more 
resistance  to  the  wind,  and  this  means  far 
less  work.  Besides,  for  many  women  to  have 
a  man  to  attend  to  the  steering  and  braking, 
in  those  early  days  was  not  exactly  a  draw- 
back; but  even  with  the  tandem  progress 
was  not  rapid.  I  remember  my  first  ex- 
perience in  1884,  when  I  practised  on  a 
Coventry  "Rotary"  in  the  country  round 
Philadelphia,  and  felt  keenly  that  a  woman 
on  a  cycle  was  still  a  novelty  in  the  United 
States.       I   came    to    England    that    same 


250  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

summer,  but  the  women  riders  whom  I  met  on 
my  runs  through  London  and  the  Southern 
Counties,  I  could  count  on  the  fingers  of  one 
hand.  The  Humbers  had  then  brought  out 
their  tandem,  and  for  it  my  husband  and  I 
exchanged  our  "  Rotary,"  and  started  off  in 
the  autumn  for  Italy,  where  we  rode  from 
Florence  to  Home.  I  have  never  made  such 
a  sensation  in  my  life,  and,  for  my  own  com- 
fort, I  hope  I  may  never  make  such  another  : 
I  ride  to  amuse  myself,  not  the  public.  It 
was  clear  that  Italian  women  were  more 
behindhand  than  the  English  or  Americans. 
There  are,  nowadays,  more  women  riders  in 
France,  probably,  than  in  any  country,  but 
in  the  summer  of  1885,  on  the  road  from 
Calais  to  Switzerland,  by  Sterne's  route,  I  was 
scarce  accepted  as  an  everyday  occurrence. 

Single  tricycles  improved  with  every  year, 
and  the  introduction  of  the  direct-steerer,  or 
well-known  "Cripper'  type,  assured  their 
popularity.  More  attention  being  paid  by 
makers  to  women's  machines,  more  women 
were  seen  on  the  roads.  Then  came  the  great- 
est invention  of  all,  the  "  Woman's  Safety." 


Cycling.  2  5 1 

A  certain  benevolent  Mr  Sparrow,  had,  some 
years  before,  in  1880  to  be  accurate,  built  a 
woman's  bicycle,  a  high  one  with  the  little 
wheel  in  front,  something  like  the  American 
"Star";  but  the  awkwardness  of  mounting 
and  dismounting  made  it  impracticable. 
Men  had  been  riding  the  dwarf  bicycle  for 
two  or  three  years  before  one  was  introduced 
with  a  frame  that  made  it  as  suitable  and 
possible  for  women.  How  near  this  brings 
us  to  the  present,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
in  the  Badminton  book,  published  in  1887, 
though  there  is  a  chapter  on  "  Tricycling 
for  Ladies,"  there  is  nothing  about  bicycling 
for  them.  I  experimented  in  1889  with  a 
tandem  safetv,  on  which  the  front  seat  was 
designed  for  women,  and  then  the  single 
safety,  with  a  dropped  instead  of  a  diamond 
frame,  was  already  in  the  market.  But  it 
had  made  slight  headway.  In  America  it 
grew  more  rapidly  in  favour.  The  average 
road  there  is  worse  than  here,  and  therefore 
the  one  track — the  bicycle's  great  advantage 
— was  much  sooner  appreciated.  Cycling 
for  women  has  never  become  fashionable  in 


252  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the  United  States,  but,  in  proportion,  a  far 
greater  number  of  American  women  ride, 
and  with  almost  all  the  safety  is  the 
favourite  mount.  In  France  also  the  sport 
is  more  popular  with  women  than  in  Great 
Britain,  and  one  might  almost  say  that  it  is 
the  safety  which  has  made  it  so.  Biding 
through  Prussia,  Saxony  and  Bavaria  in  the 
summer  of  1891,  I  met  but  two  women 
cyclists,  and  they  both  rode  safeties.  In 
England,  however,  women,  until  very  re- 
cently, have  seemed  absurdly  conservative  in 
this  matter ;  they  clnng  to  the  three  wheels, 
as  if  to  do  so  were  the  one  concession  that 
made  their  cycling  proper.  A  few  of  the 
more  radical — u  wild  women'  Mrs  Lynn 
Linton  would  call  them — saw  what  folly  this 
was,  and  many  have  now  become  safety 
riders;  but  not  the  majority.  Only  the 
other  day,  in  Bushey  Park,  I  met  a  large 
club  on  their  Saturday  afternoon  run;  half 
the  members  were  women,  but  not  one  was 
on  a  bicycle.  This,  1  know,  is  but  a  single 
isolated  instance,  but  it  is  fairly  typical. 
And  yet  the  safety  is  the   machine  of  all 


Cycling.  25 


1 


others,  which,  were  my  advice  asked,  I 
would  most  care  to  recommend.  And  I 
would  have  the  wheels  fitted  with  cushion 
tyres — the  large  rubber  tyre  with  a  small 
hole  down  the  centre — or,  better  still,  with 
pneumatics,  the  tyres  that  are  inflated  with 
air.  Both  deaden  vibration.  The  latter 
necessitate  carrying  an  air-pump  and  a  re- 
pairing kit,  for  if  the  rubber  be  cut  or  punc- 
tured, as  frequently  happens,  the  air,  of 
course,  escapes  at  once,  and  the  cut  or 
puncture  must  be  mended  and  the  tube 
blown  up  again,  which  means  trouble. 
But  the  many  improvements  introduced 
make  the  task  of  repairing  easier  every 
day.  My  career  as  a  bicyclist  began  in 
1891,  but,  short  as  it  may  seem,  I  think  it 
has  qualified  me  to  speak  with  authority. 
For  my  little  Harriot,  and  Cooper's  "  Ladies' 
Safety,"  carried  me  across  Central  Europe, 
and  as  far  east  as  the  Roumanian  frontier. 
My  experience  agrees  with  that  of  all  other 
safety  riders,  men  or  women.  The  chief 
advantage  of  the  machine  is,  as  I  have  said, 
its    one   track,    but    this    cannot    be    over- 


254  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

estimated.  Roads  must  be,  indeed,  in  a 
dreadful  condition  if  space  for  one  wheel 
to  be  driven  easily  over  them  cannot  be 
found.  The  bicyclist  can  scorch  in  triumph 
along  the  tiniest  footpath,  while  the  tri- 
cyclist  trudges  on  foot,  pushing  her  three 
wheels  through  the  mud  or  sand.  More- 
over, there  is  less  resistance  to  the  wind, 
and  in  touring,  it  is  for  easier  to  dispose 
of  the  small  light  safety  than  of  the  wider 
machine  when  you  put  up  in  a  little  inn  at 
night,  or  are  forced  for  a  time  to  take  the 
train.  Many  a  night  in  Germany,  Austria, 
and  Hungary  did  my  bicycle  share  my  bed- 
room with  me. 

The  chief  drawback  to  the  safety  is  usually 
found  in  learning  to  mount  and  steer.  I 
shall  be  honest,  and  admit  that  there  is  a 
difficulty.  The  tricycle  has  the  grace  to 
stand  still  while  the  beginner  experiments, 
but  the  safety  is  not  to  be  trifled  with. 
Sometimes  it  seems  as  if  a  look  were  enough 
to  upset  it.  Of  course,  at  first,  it  is  well  to 
let  someone  hold  and  steady  it  until  its 
eccentricities  are  mastered,  for  it  is  entirely 


Cycling.  255 

in  the  balancing  that  the  trouble  lies  ;  the 
mount  in  itself  is  as  simple  as  possible.  The 
rider  stands  to  the  left  of  the  machine  by  the 
pedals  :  taking  hold  of  the  handle  bars  she 
slowly  wheels  it  until  the  right  pedal  is  at 
the  highest  point,  turns  the  front  wheel  a 
little  to  the  right,  and  puts  her  right  foot 
on  the  right  pedal ;  this  at  once  starts  the 
machine  and  raises  her  into  the  saddle, 
and  as  the  left  pedal  comes  up,  it  is  caught 
with  her  left  foot.  The  great  thing  is  to 
have  confidence  in  the  machine ;  she  who 
shows  the  least  fear  or  distrust  is  completely 
at  its  mercy.  To  dismount  is  as  simple  : 
when  the  left  pedal  is  at  its  lowest  point, 
the  right  foot  is  brought  over  the  frame  and 
the  rider  steps  to  the  ground.  If  a  sudden 
stop  be  necessary,  she  must  put  the  brake 
on,  not  too  abruptly,  or  she  may  be  jerked 
out  of  the  saddle. 

The  steering  is  the  true  difficulty  in  safety 
riding,  and  yet  it  cannot  well  be  taught;  it 
must  come  by  practice,  with  some  very 
painful  experiences  in  the  coming.  The 
obstinacy  of  the    safety  seems    at  first   un- 


256  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

conquerable.  During  my  apprenticeship, 
many  a  time  have  I  been  going  in  a  straight 
line  with  every  intention  of  keeping  on  in 
it,  when,  without  warning,  my  safety  has 
turned  sharply  at  a  right  angle,  rushed  to 
the  ditch  and  deposited  me  there.  But  the 
funny  part  of  it  is,  that  the  woman  who 
perseveres,  gradually,  she  can  scarcely  ex- 
plain how,  gets  the  better  of  its  self-willed 
peculiarities  until  she  has  it  under  perfect 
control. 

The  best  plan  b,  in  the  very  beginning, 
to  take  a  few  practical  lessons.  There  is 
an  excellent  teacher  to  be  found  at 
Singers'  shop,  in  Holborn  Viaduct,  where 
a  cellar  paved  with  asphalt  is  kept  as  a 
school.  The  beginner  would  do  well  to 
practise  there  until  she  can  at  least  sit  up 
on  the  machine  and  balance  it  a  little,  and 
until  she  begins  to  understand  the  first 
principles  of  steering.  At  this  point  in 
bicycling  education  I  would  urge  her  to  leave 
the  schoolroom  for  the  high  road.  If  she 
wait  until  she  is  too  far  advanced  on 
asphalt,  where  the  machine  goes  almost  by 


Cycling.  257 

itself,  she  may  have  to  commence  all  over 
again  on  an  ordinary  road.  She  should 
learn  what  is  called  ankle  action  from  the 
start.  Once  the  cyclist  gets  into  a  bad  style 
of  riding  it  is  hard  for  her  to  get  out  of  it; 
and  the  more  the  ankle  comes  into  play 
the  less  strain  is  there  on  the  muscles 
of  the  legs.  A  good  rider  expends  half  as 
much  energy  and  makes  far  better  time  than 
the  woman  who  has  not  mastered  the  art. 
If  going  up  hill  be  exhausting,  why,  then  it 
is  wise  to  walk.  Going  down,  if  the  hill  be 
long,  the  brake  must  be  used  from  the  start, 
and  to  know  how  to  back-pedal  is  important. 
To  back-pedal  is  to  press  on  the  pedal  when 
it  is  coming  up  instead  of  when  it  is  going 
down.  Nothing  could  be  more  dangerous 
than  to  lose  control  of  a  machine  on  a  down 
grade.  Some  of  the  most  serious  accidents 
have  been  the  result  of  the  rider's  letting  her 
cycle  run  away  with  her  in  coasting. 

I    have    enumerated   the   virtues    of    the 
bicycle,     As  to  its  vices,  I  do  not  find  that 
it  has   any.     An    objection   often   is    raised 
against  it   because,   if  brought   to    a  stand- 
it 


25S  Ladic s  in  the  Field. 

still  by  traffic  or  any  oilier  cause,  the  rider 
must  dismount  at  once.  Bat  I  do  not  count 
this  a  serious  hardship  ;  I  have  never  been  in- 
convenienced by  it.  Again,  it  is  urged  that 
the  luggage-carrying  capacity  of  the  safety  is 
small  compared  to  that  of  the  three-wheeled 
machine.  This  is  truer  of  the  woman's  than 
of  the  man's  bicycle,  since  we,  poor  things, 
must  carry  our  knapsack  behind  the  saddle 
or  on  the  handle  bars,  while  a  most  delight- 
ful and  clever  little  bag  is  made  by  Rendell 
&  Under vvood  to  fit  into  the  diamond  frame 
of  a  man's  safety.  But,  for  a  short  trip, 
actual  necessities — that  is,  a  complete  change 
of  underclothing,  a  night-dress,  and  a  not 
too  luxurious  toilet  case — can  be  carried  in 
the  knapsack  slung  behind.  For  a  long  trip 
it  is  always  advisable  to  send  a  largp.  bag 
or  trunk,  according  to  the  individual's  wants, 
from  one  \>\<*  town  to  the  next  011  the 
route. 

Luggage  suggests  the  subject  of  dress,  as 
important  to  the  woman  who  cycles  as  to  the 
woman  who  dances.  A  grey  tweed  that  defies 
dust  and  rain  alike,  makes  the  perfect  gown ;  if 


Cycling.  259 

a  good,  strong  waterproof  be  added,  a  second 
dress  will  not  be  needed.  For  summer,  a 
linen  or  thin  flannel  blouse  and  jacket — per- 
haps a  silk  blouse,  for  evening,  in  the  knap- 
sack— and,  for  all  seasons,  one  of  Henry 
Heath's  felt  hats  complete  the  costume. 
For  underwear,  the  rule  is  wool  next  the 
skin,  combinations  by  choice.  Woollen  stays 
contribute  to  one's  comfort,  and  each  rider 
can  decide  for  herself  between  knicker- 
bockers and  a  short  petticoat.  There  is 
something  to  be  said  for  each.  This  is 
practically  the  outfit  supplied  by  the  Cyclists 
Touring;  Club  for  its  women  members.  As 
for  style,  an  ordinary  tailor-made  gown, 
simple  rather  than  elaborate,  answers  the 
purpose  of  the  bicyclist  The  bicyclist  does 
not  get  off  so  easily.  Even  with  a  suitable 
dress-guard,  and,  no  matter  what  the  makers 
say,  the  dress-guard  should  extend  over  the 
entire  upper  half  of  the  rear  wheel,  there 
is  ever  danger  of  full  long  skirts  catching 
in  the  spokes  and  bringing  the  wearer  in 
humiliation  and  sorrow  to  the  ground. 
Many  strange  and  awful  costumes  have  been 


260  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

invented  to  obviate  the  clanger — one  that  is 
skirt  without  and  knickerbockers  within; 
another  that  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
shapeless  bag,  when  all  that  is  needed  is  a 
dress  shorter  and  skimpier  than  usual,  with 
hem  turned  up  on  the  outside,  and  absolutely 
nothing  on  the  inner  side  to  catch  in  the 
pedals.  Now,  the  trouble  is  that  for  the 
tourist,  who  carries  but  one  gown,  and  who 
objects  to  being  stared  at  as  a  "  Freak" 
escaped  from  a  side  show,  it  is  awkward,  when 
off  the  bicycle,  to  be  obliged  to  appear  in 
large  towns  in  a  dress  up  to  her  ankles;  she 
might  pass  unnoticed  in  Great  Britain,  but 
on  the  Continent  she  becomes  the  observed 
of  all  observers.      At  the  risk  of  seeminar 

a 

egotistic,  I  will  explain,  as  I  have  already 
explained  elsewhere,  the  device  by  which  I 
make  my  one  cycling  gown  long  and  short, 
as  occasion  requires.  There  is  a  row  of 
safety  hooks,  five  in  all,  around  the  waist- 
band, and  a  row  of  eyes  on  the  skirt  about 
a  foot  below.  In  a  skirt  so  provided,  I  look 
like  every  other  woman  when  off  the 
machine.     Just  before  I  mount,  I  hook  it  up, 


Cycling.  261 

and  1  wheel  off  with  an  easy  mind,  knowing 
there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  catch  any- 
where. I  have  read  in  cycling  papers  many 
descriptions  of  other  women's  bicycling  cos- 
tumes, but  never  yet  have  I  discovered  one 
which,  for  simplicity  and  appropriateness, 
could  compete  with  mine.# 

On  all  that  concerns  touring,  it  is  import- 
ant to  dwell,  for  it  is  in  travelling  on  the 
road  that  women  must  find  chief  use  for  their 
cycles,  and  this  they  have  had  the  common 
sense  to  realise.  Quite  a  number  belong  to 
the  Cyclists'  Touring  Club,  and  are  among 
its  more  active  members.  True,  a  few  have 
appeared  on  the  path,  have  turned  the  high- 
way into  a  race  course,  and  occasionally, 
have  broken  records  and  done  the  other 
wonders   to  which   I,  personally,  attach  no 


*  Since  printing  this,  a  few  Englishwomen  have  appeared 
on  the  public  roads  in  knickerbockers,  and  have  made,  as 
was  to  be  expected,  great  talk  in  the  cycling  press.  French- 
women gave  them  the  example  ;  in  France,  there  is  scarce 
a  woman  bicyclist  who  has  not  adopted  knickerbockers,  or 
else  a  sort  of  gymnasium  dress.  Of  the  greater  comfort  and 
safety  secured,  there  can  be  no  question  ;  the  chief  draw- 
back to  this  costume,  especially  for  the  toiuist,  is  its  con- 
spicuousness. 


262  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

value,  whether  they  be  performed  by  men  or 
women.     Mrs  J.  P.  Fmith,  whose  husband  is 
the  manufacturer  of  the  w  Invincible  "  cycles, 
has  with  him,  on  his  "  sociable "  and  tandem, 
run  at  several  Furrey  meetings  and  in  other 
places,  and  her  feats  are  included  in  the  list 
of  the  world's  records.     Mrs  Allen  of  Bir- 
mingham, once  rode  two  hundred  miles  in 
twenty-four  hours.     Fraulein  Johanne  Jor- 
gensen,  the  woman  champion  of  Denmark, 
is    fast  breaking    the   records   of    her    own 
country,   and  threatens   to   come   over   and 
break   those    of  England.      The   ease   with 
which  Mrs  Preston  Davies  (wife  of  the  in- 
ventor of  the  Preston   Davies  tyre)  rode  rip 
Petersham  Hill,  though  not  exactly  a  record, 
made    quite    a   little   talk    among    cyclists. 
Miss    Peynolds,   who    rode   from     Brighten 
to    London    and    back   in     eight    hcuis,    is 
the   heroine   of  the    day.      We   have  even 
seen   a   team   of  women    professionals    im- 
ported  from    America    only   to    meet   with 
the  failnie  they  deserved.     But,  fortunately, 
these   are    the   exceptions.      I    say   fortun- 
ately,   because,   while    T    am    not    prudish 


Cycling.  26^ 


j 


enough  to  be  shocked  by  the  mere  ap- 
pearance of  women  on  the  path,  I  do  not 
think  they  have  the  physical  strength  to 
risk  the  fearful  strain  and  exertion.  If  men 
cannot  stand  it  for  many  years,  women  can 
still  less.  Cycling  is  healthy;  to  this  fact 
we  have  the  testimony  of  such  men  as  Dr 
Richardson  and  Dr  Oscar  Jennings,  whose 
books  on  the  subject  should  be  consulted  by 
all  interested ;  especially  Dr  Jenning's 
"  Cycling  and  Health"  since  in  his  chapter 
on  "  Cycling  for  Women,"  he  has  collected 
together  the  opinions  of  leading  authorities. 
Like  everything  else,  however,  if  carried  to 
excess,  cycling  becomes  a  positive  evil. 

Tt  can  be  overdone  on  the  road,  but  here 
the  temptations  are  not  so  great.  T  know 
many  women  who  have  toured  often  and  far, 
and  are  none  the  worse  for  it.  There  are 
few,  however,  who  have  taken  notable  ride?. 
Mrs  Harold  Lewis  of  Philadelphia,  once,  with 
her  husband,  travelled  on  a  tandem  from 
Calais  across  France  and  Switzerland,  and 
over  some  of  the  highest  Swiss  passes.  In 
the    Elwell  tours    from  America — a  species 


264  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

of  personally-conducted  tours  on  wheels — 
women  have  more  than  once  been  in  the 
party.  But  of  other  long  journeys  so  sel- 
dom have  I  heard,  that  sometimes  I  wonder 
if,  without  meaning  to,  I  have  broken  the 
record  as  touring  wheel- worn  an.  But  the 
truth  is,  that,  while  every  racing  event  is 
chronicled  far  and  wide  in  the  press,  the 
tourist  accomplishes  her  feats  without  ad- 
vertisement, solely  for  the  pleasure  of  tra- 
velling by  cycle. 

And  what  stronger  inducement  could  she 
have?  Hers  is  all  the  joy  of  motion,  not  to 
be  under-estimated,  and  of  long  days  in  the 
open  air;  all  the  joy  of  adventure  and  change. 
Hers  is  the  delightful  sense  of  independence 
and  power,  the  charm  of  seeing  the  country 
in  the  only  way  in  which  it  can  be  seen  ; 
instead  of  being  carried  at  lightening  speed 
from  one  town  to  another  where  the 
traveller  is  expected  and  prepared  for,  the 
cyclist's  is  a  journey  of  discovery  through 
little  forgotten  villages  and  by  lonely  farm- 
houses where  the  sight-seer  is  unknown. 
And,  above  all,  cycling  day  after  day  and  all 


Cycling.  265 

day  long  will  speedily  reduce,  or  elevate,  her 
to  that  perfect  state  of  physical  well-being, 
to  that  healthy  animal  condition,  which  in 
itself  is  one  of  the  greatest  pleasures  in 
life. 

Women  have  used  cycles  for  other  pur- 
poses. Doctors  ride  them  to  visit  their 
patients,  the  less  serious  go  shopping  on 
them.  Clubs  have  been  formed  here,  and 
more  successfully  in  America.  There  is  at 
least  one  journalist,  Miss  Lilias  Campbell 
Davidson,  who  is  on  the  staff  of  the 
Bicycling  Neics  and  the  Cyclists'  Touring 
Club  Gazette.  Put,  when  all  is  said,  the 
true  function  of  the  cycle  is  to  contribute 
to  the  amusement  and  not  the  duties  of  life, 
and  it  is  in  touring   that   this    end   is  best 

fulfilled. 

Elizbaeth  Robins  Pennell. 


PUNTING. 


PUNTING. 

By  Miss  Sybil  Salamax. 

That  punting  is  an  art,  and  a  very  graceful 

one,   was   borne   in    upon    me   late   one   hot, 

lazy,   summer   afternoon,    while   idly   musing 

under  the  verandah  of  a  houseboat   on   the 

upper  Thames,   and  from   that   day  to   this, 

one  of  my  most  ardent  desires  has  been  to 

become   an    expert   punter.       It   was    in   the 

prettiest  reach  on  the  river,  just   above   the 

lock,  that  the  houseboat  lay.     The  sun  was 

setting  behind  the  trees,  and  tinting  with  a 

rosy   glow   the   mist    that   was    creeping    up 

from  the  bank.     Perfect  peace  was  over  the 

scene,   and  did  not  Nature  abhor  silence   as 

much  as  she  does  a  vacuum,  I  might  almost 

say  that  silence  rested  upon  the  river.     But 

birds  sang,  now  and  then  a  fish  would  jump, 

curl  its  silver  body  in  the  air,  and  return  to 

its  watery  home  with  a  splash,  the  mooring 

chains  of  the  houseboat  were  grating  as  the 

269 


270  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

river  rippled  by,  and  in  the  distance  was 
the  hissing  sound  of  the  weir.  Suddenly 
there  came  a  noisy  intrusion,  the  peaceful- 
ness  was  disturbed,  the  air  was  full  of  dis- 
cordant voices  and  the  irregular  splashes  of 
ill-managed  oars,  for  the  lock-gates  had  opened 
and  let  loose  a  crowd  of  noisy,  scrambling, 
Saturday  half-holiday  folk.  Happily,  they 
soon  passed  by,  and  the  sound  of  their 
incongruous  chatter  and  laughter,  and  inter- 
mittent splashing  followed  them  out  of  my 
ken,  and  then  all  was  quiet  and  peaceful 
again,  and  I  was  left  gazing  dreamily  at  the 
disturbed  fishes  darting  about  in  the  shallow 
water  where  the  houseboat  lay. 

Presently  a  gentle  rippling  sound  caused 
me  to  look  up.  A  girl  was  punting  past, 
there  was  no  splashing,  no  scramble,  appar- 
ently no  effort.  The  girl  never  moved  from 
where  she  stood,  only  her  body  swayed  back- 
wards and  forwards  on  her  pole,  easily  and 
evenly,  and  the  long  straight  craft  glided  by, 
answering  to  every  touch.  I  hardly  realised 
then  that  this  slim,  graceful  girl  was  doing 
all  the  work  herself,  it  looked  so  easy  and 


Punting.  2  7 1 

simple.  The  water  bubbled  aloud  under  the 
bow  of  the  punt,  and  the  girl's  shadow  floated 
on  the  water,  the  red  suulight  lay  like  a 
pathway  before  her,  and  the  ripples  seemed 
to  part  to  make  way  for  her  as  she  brought 
her  punt  steadily  along.  She  made  a  lovely 
picture,  and  I  watched  her  as  she  went  down 
the  river,  in  the  rising  mist  and  the  sunlight, 
marvelling  at  the  straight  line  she  kept, 
watching  the  monotonous  motion  of  the  pole 
rising  and  falling,  and  listening  almost  un- 
consciously  for  the  hollow  ring  of  the  shoe 
striking  on  the  hard  ground,  till  a  sudden 
bend  in  the  river  took  her  out  of  sight, 
though,  for  some  time,  I  still  saw  the  top  of 
her  pole  over  the  bushes  rhythmically  rising 
high  in  the  air  and  disappearing  from  view. 
From  that  moment  I  decided  to  be  a  punter 
— this  girl  was  once  only  a  beginner — surely, 
I  thought,  there  was  hope  for  me. 

I  need  not  dwell  on  all  my  personal  ex- 
periences— there  is  a  great  sameness  about 
the  first  efforts  of  all  punters,  they  all  go 
round  in  circles.  But  there  are  certain  hints 
which  beginners  will  do  well  to  follow. 


272  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

First  of  all  they  must  not  be  discouraged 
by  the  inevitable  clumsiness  of  their  first 
endeavours,  the  ease  and  grace  of  punting 
comes  only  after  much  experience. 

To  the  girl  who  wishes  seriously  to  become 
a  punter,  it  is  far  better,  having  once  under- 
stood the  principle  by  which  a  punt  is  pro- 
pelled and  steered,  to  go  out  and  struggle 
alone.  If  someone  is  always  by  to  take  the 
pole  from  her,  should  any  difficulty  arise,  she 
will  not  gain  that  independence  which  is  so 
absolutely  essential  to  every  punter. 

Just  a  word  as  to  dress. 

A  good  punter  can  dress  as  she  pleases, 
but  all  beginners  get  wet ;  no  one  can  teach 
them  how  to  avoid  this  until  they  have 
acquired  a  certain  style.  Therefore  I  should 
recommend  a  serge  skirt,  not  too  long,  that 
will  stand  any  amount  of  water,  a  loose  blouse, 
with  sleeves  which  can  unbutton  and  roll  up ; 
shoes  with  low  heels,  and,  for  preference,  india- 
rubber  soles,  as  they  prevent  slipping  if  the 
punt  be  at  all  wet. 

As  in  rowing  and  sculling  the  work  in  punt- 
ing is  distributed  all  over  the  body,  and  does 


Punting.  273 

not  only  exercise  the  arm,  as  so  many  be- 
ginners imagine.  In  punting,  all  the  weight 
of  the  body  should  be  thrown  back  on  the 
pole  with  the  push,  which,  by  the  way,  should 
never  be  given  until  the  shoe  has  gripped 
the  ground.  This  brings  into  play  all  the 
muscles  of  the  back,  shoulders,  and  arms,  also 
the  hips.  This  upright  position  is  attained 
by  swinging  the  body  back  on  the  pole  when 
the  shoe  has  gripped  the  ground,  while  one 
foot  is  firmly  planted  a  little  in  advance,  and 
the  other  leg  rests  behind  with  bended  knee, 
thus  enabling  the  arms  to  be  kept  nearly 
straight  and  the  hands  well  over  the  water. 

Punting  in  this  stationary  position  is 
technically  called  "pricking."  Of  the  dif- 
ferent styles  of  punting  I  shall  speak  more 
fully  later  on. 

The  greatest  difficulty  for  the  beginner  is 
to  keep  the  punt  straight,  but  to  achieve  this 
it  is  only  necessary  to  be  always  watching  the 
bow  of  the  punt,  and  to  remember  that  which- 
ever way  the  top  of  the  pole  points,  the  bow 
will  run  in  the  opposite  direction.  In  steering 
there  are,  practically  speaking,  two  strokes — 

s 


274  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

in  one  the  pole  is  thrown  in  away  from  the 
side  of  the  punt,  which  brings  the  bow  in 
towards  the  bank,  and  in  the  other  the  pole 
is  dropped  in  under  the  bottom  of  the  punt, 
which  turns  the  bow  away  from  the  bank. 
A  punter,  by  the  way,  always  punts  from  the 
side  nearest  the  bank.  But  the  steering  should 
not  be  perceptible,  and  must  never  be  allowed 
to  detract  from  the  strength  of  the  stroke. 
It  is  effected,  as  I  have  said,  by  the  angle 
at  which  the  pole  is  thrown  in,  and  also  by 
the  position  of  the  shoe  on  the  ground  at  the 
finish  of  the  stroke.  The  direction  of  a  punt 
with  "  way "  on  is  altered  by  the  slightest 
touch. 

The  very  bad  habit  of  steering  with  the 
pole  behind  off  the  ground,  using  the  pole  as 
a  rudder,  is  never  practised  by  good  punters. 
In  very  deep  water,  or  in  a  strong  stream,  it 
must  either  break  or  strain  the  pole,  and  it 
is  not  nearly  so  quick  or  effectual  a  way  of 
steering  as  the  proper  method  I  have  de- 
scribed. 

There  are  two  ways  of  punting,  known 
respectively   as    "pricking"   and   "running." 


Printing.  275 

Roughly  speaking  "running"  is  more  general 
on  the  upper  river,  that  is,  above  Windsor, 
and  "  pricking"  on  the  shallower  and  less 
muddy  waters  of  Staines  and  Sunbury  ; 
though  "pricking*  is  much  more  popular  in 
all  parts  of  the  river  than  it  was  a  year  or  so 
ago — very  few  people  "  run '  punts  below 
Maidenhead  now. 

For  "lunning;"  all  the  weight  should  be  in 
the  stern.  The  punter  must  not  go  too  far 
forward  up  the  bow  or  she  will  stop  the  "  way ' 
of  the  punt.  A  steady  pressure  should  be 
kept  up  while  walking  down  the  punt  once 
the  pole  is  thrown  into  the  water,  and  a 
strong  push  given  at  the  finish  in  the  stern. 
If  the  pressure  is  too  great  at  the  ccmmence- 
ment  of  the  stroke,  by  the  time  the  stern  is 
reached  the  bow  will  have  run  out  into  the 
stream,  so  that,  at  the  finish  of  the  stroke,  too 
much  force  has  to  be  used  to  bring  the  punt 
in  again.  This  detracts  from  the  speed  and 
causes  a  zig-zag  course.  As  in  "  pricking," 
there  should  not  be 'too  much  steering.  It 
is  impossible,  in  "  running ';  a  punt,  to  steer 
entirely  without  the  effort  being  perceptible. 


276  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

Against  a  strong  stream  and  wind,  and  with  a 
heavy  load  it  is  often  far  easier  to  "run." 
For  "pricking,"  the  punter  assumes  a  station- 
ary position  in  the  stern,  about  a  third  of 
the  way  up  the  punt  and  facing  the  bow.  while 
all  the  weight  to  be  carried  is  put  in  front  of 

O  J- 

the  punter.  The  pole  must  never  be  reversed 
to  bring  the  punt  in  or  out,  but  kept  the  same 
side,  that  is,  in  the  shallow  water  nearest  the 
bank.  The  pole  should  be  thrown  in  as  near  the 
side  of  the  punt  as  possible  without  scraping  it 
each  time.  This  enables  the  punter  to  keep 
an  upright  position,  and  exert  more  force  than 
if  the  pole  were  held  far  away  from  the  punt. 

A  pole  is  taken  out  hand  over  hand,  and 
should  be  recovered  in  as  few  movements  as 
possible.  In  racing  especially  a  quick  re- 
covery is  a  very  great  advantage.  It  should 
be  taken  out  in  two  movements  in  shallow 
water,  so  that  a  fast  punter  would  be  ready  to 
throw  in  her  pole  for  the  next  push  before  a 
punter  with  a  slow  recovery  had  taken  her 
pole  out  of  the  water.  Of  course,  in  very  deep 
water,  two  movements  will  be  found  impos- 
sible. 


Punting.  277 


In  an  ordinary  way,  and  going  up  stream, 
the  pole  is  thrown  about  opposite  to  with  the 
body,  but  going  down,  in  a  very  strong  stream 
the  pole  should  be  thrown  in  some  way  in 
advance  of  the  body,  otherwise  the  punter 
loses  her  grip  on  the  ground  in  consequence 
of  the  stream  carrying  the  punt  so  rapidly  on 
that  the  pole  floats  uselessly  out  in  the 
stream,  and  no  time  is  given  for  the  push. 
A  punt  can  be  stopped  dead  by  reversing  the 
pole — not  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  punt, 
but  by  throwing  it  in  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion to  that  in  which  the  punter  is  pushing. 
A  punt  is  sometimes  considered  somewhat 
awkward  to  turn,  but  the  distance  of  her  own 
length  is  nearly  enough  in  reality  if  she  is 
turned  properly  !  When  the  "  way '  on  her 
is  stopped  the  pole  should  be  thrown  in  the 
other  side,  across  the  deck — the  shoe  pointing 
a  long  way  off  from  the  punt,  so  that  the 
pole  slants  right  across,  the  punter  facing  the 
stern.  This  stroke  repeated  once  or  twice 
will  turn  a  punt  almost  in  her  own  water. 

When   crossing   strong    streams,    the    bow 
must  be  kept  well  up  against  the  stream,  or 


278  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

the  current  will  carry  the  punt  right  round. 
In  a  strong  wind  the  same  precaution  is 
necessary.  It  is  sometimes  easier  in  much 
wind  to  push  the  punt  backwards — the  stern 
foremost,  the  punter  standing  in  the  bow. 
A  punb  is  nob  so  much  iadaenced  by  the  wind 
with  all  the  weight  in  front,  and  is  therefore 
easier  to  keep  sbraighb.  If  the  bow  is  oat  of 
the  water,  it  is  blown  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  and  it  is  often  very  ditrbulb  to  steer. 
la  the  wash  of  a  stexmer  punters  should 
keep  away  from  the  bank,  or  the  punt  may 
be  swept  on  to  it,  when  it  will  probably  ship 
water. 

In  going  over  new  ground,  it  is  well  to  be 
prepared  for  mud  or  loose  shingle.  If  there 
has  been  any  dredging,  the  ground  is  always 
loose,  and  it  is  easy  to  lose  one's  balance  if 
quite  unprepared  for  the  ground  crumbling 
away  under  a  hard  push.  The  same  thing 
takes  place  with  an  unexpected  deep  hole, 
where  the  pole  is  flung  in  and  cannot  reach 
the  bottom. 

If  a  punter  be  always  prepared   for  these 
things,  there  is  no  danger,  but  an  unthinking 


Punting,  279 

beginner  is  apt  to  throw  in  her  pole  fiercely, 
and  on  finding  it  stuck  fast  in  the  mud,  she 
will  probably  fall  in  herself  if  she  clings  to  it 
valiantly  bub  foolishly.  Never  cling  to  a  pole 
therefore — rather  let  it  go.  For  this  reason, 
or  in  case  of  accidentally  breaking  a  pole, 
punters  should  always  carry  an  extra  one  in 
the  punt. 

Some  people  have  straps  on  the  outside  of 
their  punts  for  extra  poles,  but  these  are  apt 
to  be  a  nuisance  in  locks,  and  they  spoil  the 
trim  and  neat  appearance  of  a  punt.  Beware 
of  a  wooden  bottom  to  a  lock,  for  the  shoe  of 
the  pole  may  stick  fast  in  the  wood  and  the 
bow  of  the  punt  swing  round  across  the  lock- 
gates. 

A  punt  has  one  great  disadvantage. 

In  a  look  full  of  boats,  perhaps  half  the 
number  of  people  do  not  know  how  to  manage 
their  own  boats,  and  have  not  the  least  idea 
how  to  get  out  of  the  lock.  Therefore  they 
are  apt  to  dig  their  boat-hooks  into  the 
nearest  punt,  if  they  can,  and  expect  to  be 
towed  out.  So,  while  looking  out  for  a 
wooden  bottom  to  the  lock,   beware  also  of 


280  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

those  "boat-hooks  fiends"  who  do  not  think 
it  nesessary  to  learn  how  to  manage  their 
boats  so  long  as  they  can  splash  about  with  a 
pair  of  sculls,  and  trust  to  a  punter  guiding 
them  safely  out  of  locks. 

Keep  the  pole  between  the  punt  and  the 
side  of  the  lock  to  avoid  the  greasy  sides. 

Double  punting,  that  is  two  persons  punt- 
ing together  simultaneously,  is  very  effective 
on  the  river.  To  do  this  the  punter  may 
stand  in  various  ways,  but  I  consider  the  best 
is  for  both  punters  to  stand  in  the  stern, 
almost  back  to  back,  one  a  little  in  advance  of 
the  other,  to  set  the  stroke.  This  necessitates 
hardly  any  steering,  for,  with  a  pole  on  each 
side,  the  punt  will  keep  itself  straight  if  both 
strokes  are  of  equal  strength.  In  turning, 
the  inside  one  should  hold  the  punt  steady, 
while  the  other  pushes — the  punt  will  then 
turn  as  on  a  pivot. 

Some  people  stand  at  opposite  ends  of  the 
punt,  with  both  poles  one  side,  but  I  can- 
not recommend  this  method,  because  too 
much  weight  is  then  thrown  on  to  one  side, 
and  a  punt  will  not  travel  well  unless  properly 


Punting.  281 

balanced.  In  all  double  punting  little  or  no 
steering  should  be  required  if  both  work  well 
together.  But  wherever  the  punters  may 
stand,  the  most  important  point  is  to  keep 
time — perfect  time.  This  is  a  sine  qua  non 
in  all  good  double  punting.  Nothing  looks  so 
bad  as  to  see  two  persons  double  punting 
when  quite  regardless  as  to  time. 

Both  poles  must  be  recovered  together  and 
in  the  same  number  of  movements,  otherwise 
it  looks  a  scramble,  and  the  poles  appear  to 
be  of  different  lengths. 

The  principle  of  steering  is,  of  course,  the 
same  in  double  punting  as  in  "pricking"  and 
"  running,"  only  that  here  the  work  is  divided, 
the  business  of  one  being  to  bring  the  bow  in, 
the  other  to  take  it  out.  Punters  must  never 
interfere  with  each  other's  stroke,  and  never 
seem  to  be  waiting.  If  the  last  stroke  has 
been  too  strong,  so  that  it  has  sent  the  punt 
out  of  the  ordinary  course,  or  not  strong 
enough,  so  that  she  has  run  in,  the  punter 
should  not  wait  till  her  fellow  punter's  stroke 
has  corrected  the  fault,  but  should  throw  in 
her  pole  in  time  with  the  other,   even  if  no 


2$ 2  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

pressure  be  required  at  all,  just  to  keep  the 
time.  The  strongest  punter  should  be  at  the 
back,  if  there  be  any  difference. 

Punts  vary  from  the  heavy  fishing  ones 
to  the  narrow  and  unsteady  racing  craft. 
But  a  useful  punt  for  ordinary  work  is  about 
3  feet  wide  and  26  feet  long;.  The  seat  is 
arranged  about  3  to  4  feet  from  the  deck,  allow- 
ing just  room  for  the  punters  to  stand.  This 
is,  of  course,  intended  for  "  pricking  "  from  the 
stern.  A  semi-racer,  to  hold  one  person  be- 
sides the  punter,  is  about  22  inches  or  2  feet 
wide,  about  27  feet  long.  A  racing  punt 
about  16  or  17  inches  wide  and  from  30  to  32 
feet  lono*. 

Really  the  most  important  item  to  a  punter 
is  the  pole,  though  many  inexperienced  people 
give  all  their  attention  to  their  punts,  while 
they  think  almost  any  pole  will  do,  in  which 
they  are  very  much  mistaken.  The  pole  is, 
if  anything,  more  important  than  the  punt 
itself.  For  my  own  part,  I  prefer  to  any 
other  a  made  pole  about  15  or  16  feet  long. 
For  hard  work  and  Ions;  distances  this  is 
certainly  the  best.     Great  attention  must  be 


Punting.  283 

paid  to  the  .shoe.  If  the  prongs  be  too  close 
they  will  pick  up  stones  continually,  and 
probably  split  the  pole  or  break.  The  best 
shoe  for  ordinary  work  is  shaped  something 
like  a  horse-shoe,  but  the  prongs  must  not 
incline  inwards  on  account  of  stones.  The 
prettiest  and  most  graceful  shoe  is  one  with 
rather  long  prongs,  not  too  close,  made  of 
nickle-plated  iron.  The  shoe  should  always 
be  heavy  enough  for  the  pole.  Poles  are 
made  of  various  woods,  and  steel  tubing  has 
been  tried,  but  these,  however,  have  not  been 
found  very  practical.  Larch  poles  are  apt  to 
splinter,  red  larch  are  better,  but  they  are 
not  very  strong,  and  they  are  very  difficult  to 
obtain,  while  they  are  seldom  quite  straight. 
JJamboo  poles  are  very  well  for  a  calm  river, 
with  little  or  no  stream,  but  they  are  not 
much  use  for  hard  work,  they  are  so  light 
that  they  are  always  inclined  to  be  top-heavy. 
All  bamboos  should  have  very  heavy  shoes, 
and  even  then  they  must  be  heavily  weighted 
in  addition,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  got 
them  heavy  enough  at  the  bottom.  A  pole 
should  sink  at  once,  and  not  require  pushing 


284  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

down.     It  will  be  found  that  a  bamboo  Las 
to  be  held  down,   or  it  will  rise  of  its  own 
account   and   float   out,    giving   no   time   for 
the  push.     They   are  considered    unbusiness- 
like by  serious   punters.     But  sometimes   at 
regattas  they  are  found  useful,     The  Henley 
course,  for  instance,  is  very  deep  all  the  way 
along  the  meadow  side,  even  quite  near  the 
bank,  therefore  a  long  pole  is  necessary,  and 
these  are  apt  to   be  very  tiring  and  heavy 
when  punting  all  day.     A  bamboo  must  never 
be  left  out  in  a  hot  sun  when  it  is  wet,  or  it 
will  crack  between  the  joints  and  when  put 
back  into  the  water  will  fill,  so  that  the  water 
runs  out  over  one's  hands  and  arms.     But  of 
whatever  kind  the  pole  may  be  it  must  be 
properly  balanced,  and  not  top-heavy.      The 
lightest  punt  will  not  make  up  for  a  badly- 
balanced    pole.       In    racing    this    should   be 
remembered.      It   is   customary    to    " prick' 
from  the   middle   of  the  punt  in  racing.     A 
stroke  called  the  overhand  push  is  much  used 
for  speed.     After  the  first  push  is  given,  and 
the    pole   is    bent    with   the   chest,    without 
moving  the  back  foot,   only  the  heel  of  the 


Punting,  285 

front  one,  and,   turning  the  body,   a  second 
push  is  given.      The  advantage  of  this  is  that 
the    punter    is    able    to    push    twice    without 
taking  the  pole  out  of  the  water,  and  a  longer 
swing  of  the   body  is  accordingly  obtained. 
When    women  race,   they  do  so  in   ordinary 
punts,   not  in   racing  punts.     There  are  not 
many    punting    races     open     exclusively    to 
ladies ;  in  fact,  as  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  they 
are  only  included  in  the  programmes  of  the 
regattas  at  Goring  and  Streatly,  at  Wargrave 
and  at  Cookham,  and  the  Thames  Ditton  and 
Hampton    Court    Aquatic    Sports.       At   the 
Maidenhead  and  Taplow  Town  Eegatta  there 
is  a  Lady's  and  Gentleman's  Double  Punting 
Race,    and   there   is    some   talk  of  a  Ladies' 
Punting  Championship  competition  being  in- 
augurated at  Maidenhead. 

In  spite  of  the  paucity  of  punting  races 
for  ladies,  however,  there  are  several  ladies 
in  various  parts  of  the  Thames  whose  style 
and  speed  have  won  for  them  something 
more  than  local  renown.  For  instance,  at 
Staines,  there  are  Mrs  Hamilton,  Miss  Kilby 
and   Mrs    George    Hunter ;    at   Maidenhead, 


286  Ladies  in  the  Field. 

Miss  Ethel  Lumley  and  Miss  Annie  Benning- 
field  ;  at  Bray,  Miss  Maud  Lumley ;  at  Hamp- 
ton, Miss  D.  Hewitt,  who  in  '91  won  the 
Ladies'  Punting  Competition  at  the  Hampton 
Court  and  Thames  Ditton  Aquatic  Sports. 
In  addition  to  these,  there  is  Mrs  Sharratt  of 
Surly  Hall  Hotel,  better  known,  perhaps,  as 
Miss  Ada  Morris,  the  daughter  of  the  lock- 
keeper  at  Bray,  who  has  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  best  punters,  if  not  the  best, 
on  the  Thames.  Some  people  punt  Canadian 
canoes,  but  this,  though  pretty  wrhen  well  done, 
does  not  come  under  the  heading  of  serious 
punting. 

The  practice  of  paddling  punts  is  often 
indulged  in  on  crowTded  courses,  such  as  Henley 
in  the  regatta  week,  but  this  T  need  hardly 
say  is  never  done  by  good  punters.  Even 
there  it  is  far  better  to  use  a  long  pole. 

In  conclusion,  I  think  I  may  say  that  there 
is  no  prettier  sight  on  the  w^tole  river  than  a 
girl,  neatly  dressed,  punting  well  and  grace- 
fully ;  but,  like  riding,  it  is  an  exercise  which 
must  be  done  well.  A  hot-looking  girl 
struggling  with  her  pole  is  a  spectacle    that 


Punting.  287 

must  excite  anything  but  admiration  from 
cither  the  river  or  the  bank.  Good  style  and 
ease,  so  important  in  punting,  come  only  after 
much  practice. 

Sybil  Salaman. 


THE    END. 


COLSTON  AKD  COJirAXY,  FRUITERS,  EDINBURGH 


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